Bitzer Mobile solves BYOD security and usability clash for enterprise mobility

SUNNYVALE, USA: Bitzer Mobile, an enterprise mobility solution provider that redefines secure access to applications on mobile devices, announced Bitzer Mobile Access Accelerator (BMAX). BMAX is a simple solution that enables a secure AppTunnelÔ which allows corporations to confidently extend Intranet access to mobile devices without compromising the user experience.

BMAX is an addition to BEAM, Bitzer’s Enterprise Application Mobilization platform, which together solve the challenges around authentication, security, control and app mobility. BMAX-SA is a product that is especially targeted for enterprises that use smart cards and digital certificates for user authentication.

“As the adoption of smartphones and tablets continues to grow in both the consumer and enterprise space, mobility is quickly transitioning to the second wave of mobility predicated on applications,” said Philippe Winthrop, mobility analyst and founder of the Enterprise Mobility Forum. “The consumerization of enterprise mobility – most visibly manifested by the BYOD trend – has now moved on to the application front. Organizations are now quickly recognizing the power and value of providing mobile applications to both their employees and their customers. Despite this, many companies are still faced with the challenge of striking the balance between maintaining security and control for IT, while preserving the user-experience of the device for the employee.”

Companies have invested a multitude of resources to create seamless Single Sign-On (SSO) environments within their network walls where applications and PCs share a direct trust relationship. Extending this type of trust to a mobile device has been a challenge due to valid security concerns and simplicity of use. Bitzer’s BMAX solution solves this problem by employing a patent-pending technology to securely extend this “internal” trust directly to a user’s mobile device.

According to Forrester Research, 60 percent of US companies have already established BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) programs. The knee jerk reaction among employers is to “lock down” end point devices by adding additional security software, restricting functionality, and requiring long and complicated passwords to access the device. Users, however, don’t want to have to enter a password just to access Facebook, be restricted to which apps they can download, or limited in which functions they can use. Smartphone adoption — the impetus behind BYOD — has been driven by the user experience, a fact that is forcing companies to look for a new balance between usability and security.

Bitzer’s solution changes the disparate circumstances surrounding enterprise application mobility, and becomes instrumental in creating a new generation of enterprise app mobilization. While other solutions attempt to manage the entire device by changing device authentication, VPN access and policies, Bitzer’s solution enables IT to deploy a secure container on employees’ mobile devices. Bitzer’s AppTunnel secures and isolates enterprise communication and data from an employee’s personal information.

“IT managers are saddled with the task of figuring out how to manage proprietary corporate content without sacrificing security and the end-user’s experience with their mobile device. Device management solutions miss the point. It’s not about managing a device; it’s about securing the flow of the data,” said Naeem Zafar, CEO and president of Bitzer Mobile. “Our Mobile App Container (MAC) solution enables the end-user to maintain the user experience of his/her own device, while IT maintains control of proprietary information. As we like to say at Bitzer, ‘what happens in the container stays in the container.’”

With Bitzer’s solution, IT departments can install a multi-platform, secure container on employee devices that provides complete isolation of enterprise and personal information. The solution consists of the following components:

* BMAX Gateway — Offers secure Intranet access from mobile devices or smartphones with zero programming and simple deployment. Pluggable authentication connector supports Kerberos/PKI authentication.

* Secure Container — Enforces patent-pending, virtual smart card authentication. Contains secure browser and secure document storage. Supports iOS, Android, Blackberry and Windows Phone devices.

* Admin Control Panel (ACP) — Provides remote management of containers, logging, policy enforcement, and remote lock/wipe. Can be in the cloud or on-premises.