Research in Motion on Tuesday launched its new BlackBerry Mobile Fusion mobile device management software for enterprise customers, adding the ability to manage Apple's iOS devices, in addition to those running BlackBerry OS and Google Android.
Built on the foundation of BlackBerry Enterprise Server, the new BlackBerry Mobile Fusion will allow enterprise customers to manage smartphones and tablets based on a variety of platforms beyond its own BlackBerry OS. The software provides a single, unified wed-based console for managing devices.
"For businesses and government, managing a mix of mobile devices on any scale is chaotic. Organizations face pressure to allow employees to bring their own devices into the workplace, and they are looking to RIM as the global leader in the enterprise mobility space to solve that problem,†said Alan Panezic, Vice President, Enterprise Product Management and Marketing at Research In Motion.
"BlackBerry Mobile Fusion allows organizations to manage a mixed environment of devices in the most secure, simple, and cost efficient manner possible. It also means that businesses and government do not have to move to the lowest common denominator on security for all the devices they need to manage."
Managing iOS and Android devices with BlackBerry Mobile Fusion software grants companies the following capabilities:
- Support for multiple devices per user
- Application and software management
- Connectivity management (Wi-Fi, VPN, certificates)
- Centralized, easy to use, unified web-based console
- Security and policy definition and management
- Asset management
- Configuration management
- Security and protection for lost or stolen devices (remote lock, wipe)
- User- and group-based administration
- High scalability
BlackBerry Mobile Fusion is a free download, and usage is priced based on the number of devices being managed. Licenses start at $99 per user or $4 per month annually, while volume discounts are available.
iOS and Android devices require RIM's Mobile Fusion Client application to be installed. The software is available for the iPhone and iPad on Apple's App Store.
RIM first announced in May of 2011 that it planned to update its BlackBerry Enterprise server to support iOS devices. The product was initially expected to debut in late 2011, but was pushed back until Tuesday's launch.
The release of the new enterprise server software comes less than a week after RIM reported dismal earnings in which it saw a billion-dollar sequential drop in quarterly revenues. The Canadian smartphone maker sold 11.1 million handsets and a half-million PlayBook tablets in the last quarter.