We’ve briefly mentioned a few of our future plans for BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 in the past, but today we’d like to share a preview of how secure enterprise mobility management is growing and evolving to meet the needs of businesses worldwide with Secure Work Space for iOS and Android devices. BlackBerry has and continues to be the only choice for enterprises with security, functionality, and collaborative mobile strategies in mind. As needs evolve and IT departments face an ever-growing variety of devices being brought into the workplace, we’re building our solutions to match your needs and priorities.

BlackBerry security capabilities for data-at-rest and data-in-transit will soon be extended to iOS and Android devices; both for smartphones and tablets. A separate and secure work space will hold corporate apps, work email, calendar, contacts, and more. Administrators can configure, secure, wipe, and interact with the Secure Work Space, while employees can enjoy a work and personal experience on a single device. Check out just a few of the benefits:

• Trusted BlackBerry security extended to iOS and Android
• No need for an expensive VPN infrastructure to secure data in transit
• Third party MDM providers and multiple vendors aren’t required – we’ve designed Secure Work Space to be managed by BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 from a single console
• Deployment is straightforward, with all components on a single server
• Global and flexible technical support is available for all aspects of the solution, even further reducing the need for multiple IT and mobility vendors

Secure Work Space for iOS and Android devices allows businesses to meet the needs (and pressures) of employees with the trusted legacy of BlackBerry security applied. Additionally, considerable effort and expense is saved as no expensive and complex VPN infrastructure is required. You’re provided with one vendor who has designed the Secure Work Space solution, the industry-leading security standards, the enterprise mobility management solution, and who provides global technical support at flexible tiers.

Closed beta testing for Secure Work Space on iOS and Android devices is already underway. General availability will be offered by the end of the second quarter, calendar year 2013. We’re excited to share many more details at our BlackBerry Live conference in May 2013.

Today, attendees at the MobileCON 2012 conference in San Diego had the opportunity to listen to Research In Motion (RIM®) Chief Information Officer, Robin Bienfait, share insights into the future of mobility from an enterprise mobility management and professional end user perspective. Because this conference is enterprise and mobile IT focused, Robin discussed how BlackBerry® is partnering with its customer base to unleash the power of mobile information. Business professionals today need to rapidly make intelligent decisions, without worrying about the reliability and security of core infrastructure. The concept of untethered mobility was a major theme of today’s keynote. Being connected means that you’re free to go anywhere without losing the connection to what’s important to you. Robin encouraged all in attendance to look beyond email to a truly mobile vision – a vision that brings people and information together, in any time, in any space.

Highlights from the MobileCON keynote included an expansion of RIM’s current BlackBerry® Balance™ offering, a glimpse into RIM’s new BlackBerry 10 platform, and insights into how business leaders can shape their IT framework to keep information safe and end-users satisfied.

An interesting feature that is currently in market today, Robin showcased how BlackBerry Balance is designed to give users peace of mind that their privacy is respected, while IT administrators can rest assured that their sensitive corporate data is also protected. In San Diego, Robin talked about how this capability is reshaping and empowering today’s mobile workforce. BlackBerry Balance technology is designed to separate and secure work and personal information, so users can stay connected to the important people and things in their life, without sacrificing functionality.

Robin also discussed RIM’s big-picture commitment to enterprise customers remains paramount, “We’re committed to listening and to partnering with you as you face mobility trends and challenges.”

A major win for Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM), BlackBerry Balance is designed to give users peace of mind that their privacy is respected, while IT administrators can rest assured that their sensitive corporate data is also protected. BlackBerry Balance technology is designed to separate and secure work and personal information, so users can stay connected to the important people and things in their life, without sacrificing functionality. In San Diego, Robin announced RIM’s commitment to extending BlackBerry security to data-at-rest on Android and iOS devices. Along with BlackBerry Balance for BlackBerry smartphones and tablets, this will provide the confidence and comfort that IT Administrators need across their entire mobile environment.

While RIM is confident that BlackBerry devices are the safest, most robust, and cost-effective solution for the enterprise, for those organizations that wish to allow Android and iOS into their environment, BlackBerry will continue to keep your corporate data safe and secure – just as we’ve always done with our devices – and now for iOS and Android. We want to take the uncertainty and guesswork out of letting the unknown into your environment, and work together with our partners on solutions that work best for them, and for their unique ecosystem. We are an industry leader known as the world’s most secure solution, and we are excited to extend this capability to other mobile platforms. Some may say we’re breaking the rules here by supporting the management of competitive devices… but our big-picture commitment to our enterprise customers remains paramount – we’re committed to listening and to partnering with you as you face mobility trends and challenges.

From its core DNA, BlackBerry has always delivered a solution that engages people, brings them together, and empowers collaboration and success. The BlackBerry 10 platform will help you to achieve goals and take action, and the live demonstration by RIM’s Jeff Gadway gave attendees a glimpse into what to expect in Q1 of 2013. From the peek and flow gestures to the demonstration of BlackBerry Balance capabilities, the launch of BlackBerry 10 is set to be a pinnacle moment in the rich history of mobile computing. BlackBerry is laying the foundation for a fundamental change in how we all communicate, collaborate, and engage with information. Stay tuned to the BlackBerry for Business Blog for future updates from inside RIM – there is much more to share and discuss!

Today Research In Motion® (RIM®) has launched the next-generation in enterprise mobile device management (MDM) – BlackBerry® Mobile Fusion. This tool acts as a central platform giving IT managers the ability to effectively and efficiently manage the following:

• BlackBerry® 7 (and previous) smartphones
• BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablets (and BlackBerry® 10 smartphones in the future)
• As of today, tablets and smartphones running Android® and iOS®

I recently spoke with some enterprise customers during the BlackBerry® Innovation Forum in both Toronto and Atlanta about their thoughts on BlackBerry Mobile Fusion – clearly customers are excited. Beyond Mobile Fusion Studio and BlackBerry® Device Service – both of which we’ve discussed previously – many seem eager to deploy the Universal Device Service. Check out a video overview of BlackBerry Mobile Fusion below:

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

RIM has now officially released the entire BlackBerry Mobile Fusion solution, including the Universal Device Service. Similar to how BlackBerry Device Service provides a set of security and management features for BlackBerry PlayBook tablets, the Universal Device Service provides Mobile Device Management for iOS and Android based devices.

Now let’s be clear: this does not turn a random phone into a BlackBerry smartphone! BlackBerry® Enterprise Server (conveniently accessible through Mobile Fusion’s unified, web-console, Mobile Fusion Studio) pushes out 500+ IT policies to BlackBerry smartphones. This is the champagne of enterprise mobility solutions, giving organizations back-end integration and end-to-end security that only BlackBerry offers; accessed through feature rich BlackBerry smartphones in a multitude of form factors that end-users desire.

As more devices come to market, however, IT managers need to accommodate individually purchased units that come into the enterprise, whether by a sales rep deciding to expense the latest handset, a doctor bringing in their personal phone for hospital work, or a field worker getting whatever’s available on special as a replacement unit. Universal Device Service offers you – if not a champagne solution – perhaps a Cava or Prosecco. And, given how individual-liable devices are typically used, this is often quite sufficient. BlackBerry Mobile Fusion finally gives you a solution, managed from a single web-console, to deal with the influx of personal-liable devices in the enterprise and ensures that a range of suitable security mechanisms are in place.

Once the server software is installed and the device side client is loaded (conveniently accessed by the end user through their OS-specific app store), you’re good to go. Each component (BlackBerry Device Service, Universal Device Service, and BlackBerry Enterprise Server) runs on a single server, keeping things straightforward and simple to maintain. To get you going, in addition to the BlackBerry Mobile Fusion server software always being a free download, currently several Client Access Licenses are included in a FREE 60 day trial, so you can deploy a pilot immediately before budgeting for a full enterprise roll out.

So what exactly does BlackBerry Mobile Fusion let you do in terms of managing non-BlackBerry devices? I could write a year’s worth of blog posts on each of the different functions (and probably will!). Obviously the specific capability will vary for each OS based on the APIs that are available, but here are some of the highlights of what BlackBerry Mobile Fusion is designed to do:

• Activate and configure devices and profiles over the air
• Enable access to enterprise Mail, Calendar and PIM
• Administer users and groups, natively and directory based
• Establish corporate IT Policies and Security
• Manage lost devices – Password Reset, Device Lock, Device Wipe
• Set Wi-Fi® and VPN settings
• Deploy internally-developed apps
• Define (and enforce) public applications as mandatory or optional
• Provides Notifications to the Device User
• Provides Rooting & Jailbreak Detection
• Help manage Roaming to control your data costs
• Prevent apps from accessing corporate mail accounts

So with the ability finally to control the chaos that seems to be the state of mobility in many organizations…when will you be deploying BlackBerry Mobile Fusion?

How do you manage non-BlackBerry devices today? Does your organization have a policy for personal versus corporate devices? How do you control the chaos? We’d love to hear what you’re doing now, and how you plan to leverage this new technology.