BlackBerry Ltd. on Wednesday partnered with Google Inc. to ensure its latest mobile security software works with technology the search engine giant offers to separate an employee’s personal and work data on a smartphone.
The deal is BlackBerry’s latest move to broaden the potential customer base for its BES12 software, which enables companies to remotely manage devices to prevent security breaches and data loss. Last November, the Canada-based company partnered with South Korean mobile-phone maker Samsung Electronics Co. on mobile-security technology offerings to gain access to Samsung’s enterprise customers.
BlackBerry’s management device software anchors its strategy to double software sales to $500 million next fiscal year as part of its plan to revive growth. Because BlackBerry’s global share of the smartphone market has fallen below 1%, the company needs to make its security software appealing to customers whose employees use competitors’ devices. That includes businesses whose employees use mobile phones powered by Google’s Android operating system.
Companies can already use BlackBerry’s BES12 technology to manage Android devices that aren’t also loaded with Google’s so-called Android for Work solution. That technology allows users to separate personal and work data to ensure corporate security and employee privacy.
The combination of BlackBerry’s BES12 and Google’s Android for Work “will provide customers with another option to enhance their mobile security and the productivity of their employees,” Billy Ho, senior executive in BlackBerry’s enterprise group, said in a statement.
BlackBerry said it will start offering the service in the second quarter of this year.
Source: http://www.wsj.com/articles/blackberry-google-team-up-to-secure-android-phones-1424900900
