Dell jumps into enterprise mobility management

Dell’s entry into the secure workspace arena pits it against a host of other competitors, including AirWatch, Aruba Networks, Cellrox, Citrix, Enterproid, Fixmo, MobileSpaces, OpenPeak, Red Bend, Samsung and VMware. Roger Bjork, Director of Mobility Solutions, Dell Software, acknowledges it’s a crowded field but says Dell’s overarching strategy encompasses not just management of devices such as Apple iOS, Google Android and Windows Pro tablets, but also Macs, Windows-based PCs, Linux PCs as well as thin clients. As such, Dell is looking at providing commonality in encryption, security policy and provisioning across a wide range of computing resources.

Dell’s thinking on Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) includes PCs and Macs, not just smartphones and tablets, because the enterprise often sees business partners bringing them in as part of work. It’s “Bring Your Own PC,” Bjork says. Dell is offering a way to create a controlled corporate image for this, and the Dell mobility offering will provide that through help from partner Moka5.

But the balance of Dell’s push into enterprise mobility management, especially its “secure workspace,” is based on in-house development, plus technologies gained through acquisitions over the years, says Bjork. From the Wyse acquisition, Dell gained the SaaS infrastructure, and from the Kace buy, the systems and asset management that are part of Dell Enterprise Mobility Management suite of software products and services.

“This is our first workspace container,” says Bjork, noting that it will include controls associated with email, calendar, contacts, secure mobile browser and local file explorer. Dell says it expects to price the mobility offering on a subscription basis when it’s made available early next year.