Dell EMM to allow admins to manage Android and iOS devices

Dell aims to help businesses tackle security risks associated with BYOD policies by introducing an OS agnostic management tool.

The Dell Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) product allows IT admins to configure, secure and manage some of the most popular operating systems including Android, iOS, Linux, Mac and Windows. The tool will also allow admins to manage thin and zero cloud clients.

Dell EMM puts enterprise apps in a workspace container, meaning that the whole device does not have to managed. This give the end user access to corporate data and productivity tools, including email, calendar, contacts, as well as a secure mobile browser and secure local file explorer.

Dell has integrated secure remote access from its SonicWALL acquisition and Dell Data Protection provides data encryption.

John Swainson, president of software at Dell pointed out that securing handheld devices is no longer easy for businesses as they are increasingly owned by employees.

"In the old days it was easy [to secure devices]. It was a corporate owned device and if it was lost somewhere, you [IT] would wipe it," he told attendees at Dell World.

"In this new world of employees using personally owned devices - am I going to wipe that device? Some [businesses] do, but increasingly that's a pretty rough solution[We think] it's really about managing the workspace on the device - instead of the whole device itself."

Dell plans to release EMM during the first quarter of 2014. It will initially be available in Canada and US and will be sold as an annual software subscription license.