MobileIron launches first dedicated Smart Mobile Management platform for channel
MobileIron, a US start up specialising in Smart Mobile Device management, has launched in the UK and has signed up Cloud Distribution as its first EMEA distributor.
The firm, which sells its products as either a £2000 hardware appliance or as free virtual software appliance, offers a suite of management tools that already supports iPhone, Symbian, Windows Mobile and Blackberry devices. The firm is also working on a support for Google Android phones.
Key features include the ability to restrict application installation on devices, alert telecoms managers if users are racking up excessive call charges due to incorrect selection of roaming agreements and enforcement organisational antivirus and data loss prevention strategies down to an individual device level. The platform also allows companies to create iPhone style app stores for employees and selectively delete unauthorised corporate information that may have been ‘accidently’ stored on a mobile device.
Management team
With a founding and management team made up of senior ex-Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO), Nortel and Symantec (NASDAQ:SYMC) executives, MobileIron has generated interest as the market for Smart devices is likely to grow to 100m units shipped over the next year. The firm is backed by several VC funds including heavyweights Sequoia Capital and Norwest Venture Partners.
“Smartphones are fundamentally harder to manage than the desktop,” explains Bob Tinker, president and CEO of MobileIron, who joined from Cisco where he led Business Development team for its $1bn a year wireless business units.
Tinker points to the lack of standard operating systems, differences between mobile operators and that the, “the mobile is much more personal; end users have a much stronger opinion instead of just accepting what they get when it comes to a laptop or PC.” Tinker adds.
The firm has appointed Kees van Veenendaal as VP and general manager of EMEA to drive partner recruitment. Nicknamed, ‘The Flying Dutchman’, Veenendaal has held senior channel facing roles at Trapeze Networks, US Robotics and Wang. He says: “We have already signed up four resellers and we are in discussion with several more.”
Although not official partners, Veenendaal confirms ComputaCenter (FTSE:CCC.L) in the UK and Logica in France have both already fulfilled significant orders for MobileIron installations.
