A solution to corporate iPhone security problem?

You cannot deny that iPhones and iPads are ubiquitous, game changing devices. They are changing the way people interact with information and with each other. Always-on corporate devices such as the Blackberry have been breaking down the corporate divide for years now – people twitter at work, and check emails at home at the weekend. These devices offer us a potentially utopian work/life balance, and I am a big fan. Problem is on the cool scale, and iPhone is more cool than a Blackberry….

The Information Security community has been scared of encouraging Apple devices because of the lack of built-in controls. Features familiar to us from Blackberry Enterprise Server, such as on-device encryption, in-air encryption, remote wiping, policy enforcement, password protection etc. just don’t exist on Apple platforms. It surprises me that Apple have not done more to embrace enterprise requirements. In turn, the corporate response is to actively discourage Steve Job’s devices.

Well where there is a market opportunity, entrepreneurs will fill the need. There is a neat looking tool called “Good for Enterprise” now in the iTunes app store. Now not having dealt with Good products before, I cannot advocate them myself, but on paper, this solution sounds good for our Enterprise.

Read more on Good For Enterprise at http://www.good.com/media/pdf/enterprise/Good_for_Enterprise_Brochure.pdf