AirWatch App Management Module Flies Solo

Enterprise mobility specialist AirWatch is launching a new tool solution providers can use in managing mobile applications apart from the world of mobile device management. Calling it a standalone Mobile Application Management (MAM) platform, AirWatch seeks to deliver a scalable and flexible management solution that meshes with existing mobility management options (like BYOD).

MAM is part of AirWatch’s much larger portfolio of enterprise management solutions, which include mobile content management, email management and traditional device management. Now, AirWatch is making a foray into supporting corporate and personal devices via dedicated application management.

The secret sauce for AirWatch is the new “app wrapping engine” within the AirWatch SDK. It allows application developers to inject AirWatch code and security features into existing applications without requiring developers actually write new code. This provides forced authentication, forced password requirements and if needed, “compromised device detection” capabilities that shut down device features to prevent malicious activity.

MAM also allows for management of apps, both internal and public, across all devices, with a single console. Analytics, app health, diagnostics and other configuration settings (including jailbreak detection) are available. App provisioning, alongside traditional enterprise-sanctioned app stores are supported in tandem.

In effect, this is a more hands-off approach that attacks the heart of many MDM issues — application and application data security. Providers that are looking for this a-la-carte approach may also find Secure Content Locker an attractive option, as it can safely distribute data and content across devices, which can either be monitored via AirWatch MDM or deployed standalone as a “independent module.” The same is true for AirWatch’s BOYD module.

AirWatch’s principle with this SDK and standalone module method is a focus on customization. In a prepared statement, Airwatch CEO John Marshall attested to this goal, noting that “enterprises now have a variety of deployment scenarios, and AirWatch offers solutions that align with [those] product requirements.”

Solution providers that are looking to lure wary businesses into the MDM space may want to lead with a company that has both brand recognition and roots in successful large-scale deployments. AirWatch boasts a base of large customers, including United Airlines, Lowe’s and the Merck Group, and last September, AirWatch provided the cloud backbone for E-Perimeter’s security MDM solution. Partners can familiarize themselves with the AirWatch partner program here, which includes referral, reseller and service provider options.

Partners should also consider the following: Mobile management is only one piece of a much larger puzzle that solution provider must solve in modernizing the enterprise. A complete package for a partner will include network assessment services and wireless infrastructure capabilities that complement  management tools, critical in providing a true end-to-end mobility plan.