Archive for Technology Movers and Shakers
Combating the Security Risks as Mobile Access to Corporate Information Expands
Posted by: | CommentsPopular Smartphones such as the iPhone and BlackBerry are affording access to information and applications for users as never before. Businesses recognize that enabling their employees to access and exchange information with customers and prospects, regardless of where they are, is critical to their success.
In essence, Smartphones put a mobile computer in your pocket. They store sensitive customer and company data, download email, access key corporate applications and assets, surf the web and more. They are a lot like laptop computers.
And just like laptops, Smartphones are vulnerable to security concerns. They can easily be lost or stolen. They are vulnerable to data loss.
Increasingly clever hackers launch SMS, email and web-based attacks using phishing or other tactics to penetrate users’ mobile devices. Of course, worms and Trojans are always lurking and probing for opportunities to disrupt the workday. What are mobile device users to do — fret that the person sipping a latte next to them is actually trying to steal information as they chat with clients or colleagues?
All the talking, exchanging of information and storing of critical corporate documentation on Smartphones is, not surprisingly, keeping IT teams up at night. However, implementing large-scale security upgrades and enforcing security policies for thousands of mobile employees is no easy task. Few companies have the expertise across myriad mobile platforms and technologies to execute such deployments flawlessly.
That’s where a firm like Enterprise Mobile, with expertise in the major mobile technologies, can become businesses’ best friend. The company guides organizations through the intricacies of the mobility ecosystem, including devising optimal approaches to device management (including security) and application deployment. Working with outside experts such as Enterprise Mobile can smooth security deployments and application upgrades while giving businesses confidence in their mobile security posture.
“It’s imperative that enterprises employ the device management solution that’s right for their business, implementing the most appropriate security policies for the mobile devices their workforce uses,” said Enterprise Mobile’s Chairman and CEO Mort Rosenthal.
These simple words of wisdom are echoed by businesses. A recent InformationWeek Analytics 2010 Mobile Device Management and Security Survey revealed that 73 percent of enterprises will deploy or plan to deploy software for mobile device management to address security issues. This figure is up nearly a quarter from the 52 percent who were planning security-related deployments two years ago.
Nokia Forms Strategic Alliance with Yahoo!
Posted by: | CommentsOn May 24, Nokia (NOK) announced a new “strategic alliance” with Yahoo! (YHOO). The goal is to increase Nokia’s smartphone presence in the United States and for Yahoo! to power e-mail and instant-messaging services for the Ovi platform. The two companies said they will “leverage each others’ strengths in e-mail, instant messaging and maps and navigation services.”
The deal will make Nokia the exclusive global-provider of Yahoo!’s maps and navigations services, while Yahoo will become the exclusive provider for Mail and Chat services in Nokia’s Ovi platform.
Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said: “delivering great user experiences — both online and on your mobile — is what this alliance is all about. We’re enabling millions of Yahoo! customers in key markets including North America to discover the unique capabilities that Ovi Maps brings.”
At an accompanying press conference, Kallasvuo admitted that Nokia has failed to make a splash in the U.S. smartphone market. Nokia, however, remains the dominant force in the global market with the lion’s share of smartphone and cell-phone sales. “We are an unusual global company in the sense that we are clearly a global leader in our industry, and yet we do not lead in the U.S.,” Kallasvuo said.
Nokia, a Finnish handset maker, has felt threatened by Apple as the iPhone has seen spectacular year-over-year growth. Nokia on the other hand, while still dominant, has lost some market share. One recent study found that the iPhone is the third-largest smartphone platform in the world, with 15.4 percent of the market. The leaders are Research in Motion (RIMM) with 19.4 percent and Nokia’s Symbian with 44.3 percent.
The two companies are engaged in a number of lawsuits related to patents. The first shot in the legal battle was fired by Nokia last October, when it accused Apple’s iPhone of violating patents related to GSM and wireless LAN technology.
Under the terms of the new Nokia-Yahoo! deal, select co-branded service offerings will become available in the second half of 2010, with global availability expected in 2011. “What a combination,” Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz said. “We’re excited to expand the reach of our best-in-class Mail and Messenger services, bringing personalized experiences to more people across the mobile web, particularly in emerging markets where we are seeding the next generation of Yahoo users.”
Nokia’s partnership with Yahoo! comes as Apple’s relationship with Google (GOOG) has soured. Google is the default search-provider and powers the Maps and YouTube applications on the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. The company also announced Google TV, a new Android-powered platform that aims to take on the Apple TV in the set top-box market.
In addition to search, Yahoo! and Apple (AAPL) also have a partnership for software on the iPhone, as the No. 2 search company provides data for the native Stocks and Weather applications found on the iPhone. Apple CEO Steve Jobs even gave a surprise motivational speech to employees of Yahoo! in 2007.
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