RIM to offer security features for rival phones

Research In Motion are aiming to get a new income source by offering a new tool to rival smartphone devices, such as the Apple iPhone. The company said today that they are going to launch a new ‘Mobile Fusion' device management software package in Q1 2012 which will allow corporate IT staff to configure and set rules for passwords, applications and software on a range of devices, including the iPad and iPhone. Smartphones based on the Google Android platform will also be supported.

The company can then lock or wipe a lost phone remotely, a very important area for companies with sensitive data.

Alan Panezic, RIM's vice president for enterprise product management spoke to Reuters saying “What our enterprise customers are looking for, and the opportunity for us, is to become the de facto platform. We will take full advantage of whatever security capabilities are provided by the core operating system. We're not going to hold that back in any way, shape or form.”

The Blackberry was the business user's choice for many years but they have been facing tough competition this year from Apple and Google powered devices. RIM are looking to cater for non Blackberry devices, generating more money from software development. The new Mobile Fusion software is said to reside alongside the BlackBerry Enterprise Servers behind corporate firewalls.

No pricing information has been made available yet for the Fusion software, but according to Panezic, who spoke to Reuters, it will be ‘competitive' with rival software.

Phillip Redman, an analyst with Gartner said It will help stem the tide of those companies that may have considered eliminating their BES but it won't help sell more phones. That's what they really need to do.”

Kitguru says: Is this a good long term move for Research In Motion, or have they finally realised that not everyone wants a BlackBerry handset?

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