How notable an issue is fragmentation in the Android space? Take a gander at this comparison of Android devices supplemented by this OS usage share chart, and you’ll quickly see why corporate IT directors place Android management and Android security at the top of their mobile device management (MDM) priority list.

Employees are bringing their own devices to work at an unprecedented rate. A significant portion of these devices are smartphones and tablets from different manufacturers running different versions of the Android operating system. Take the time to learn how to manage and secure separate devices by putting the right tools to use.

If you’d like to access the slides, poll results, or on-demand recording of the webinar prior to reading the recap, all can be found in this MaaSters Center post.

The Android Fragmentation Problem

When the topic of Android fragmentation is breached, the first thing that comes to mind is device variety. The broad spectrum of Android smartphones and tablets of course come equipped with very different software versions and the user interfaces (UI).

Since Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) programs have become commonplace, three brands have made the biggest stamp in the enterprise: Samsung, HTC, and Motorola. Before we get into how you can manage all of your Android devices in one screen, let’s discuss what makes them different.

Samsung devices run off of a stock version of the Android mobile operating system with a custom UI on top. Samsung dubbed this simpler user experience TouchWiz. One of the first things you will notice after powering on a TouchWiz device is the easier navigation through menu items. Another unique aspect of the TouchWiz UI is its approach to applications. With TouchWiz, Samsung has packed in their own app gateway instead of requiring a connection to Google Play (formerly the Android Market).

HTC has a different custom interface, known as Sense. This UI is heavily modified in all areas, especially the email client. If you are a device manager at your organization, you may be familiar with the quirkiness characteristic of Sense devices. Often times you will receive inaccurate metrics in your reporting, for example 2 or more device IDs appear for the same device We’ll get into solving this issue, don’t worry. In addition to the major changes to email, Sense features a different web browser, calendar, and camera than the typical Android user would be accustomed to.

Last of the big three, Motorola uses Blur. Similar to HTC, device reporting with Blur devices may yield inaccurate information depending on the agent or application used to manage the device. Merging may be required to cut multiple device IDs down to a single device. Blur is also well known for its EDM API differentiation. Devices running on Android 2.3 and above have the added benefit of VPN and Encryption configuration options, which we will gt into more.

Provisioning to Achieve Complete Android Management

Using an application, agent, or APK, you can successfully manage Android devices connecting to your network, regardless of make, model, or year. Here are a few ways these can be leveraged to manage devices:

• Remote service
• Apply Android software updates to devices
• Push policy to devices
• Enroll and receive reporting on a particular device

Often times, an administrator will rely on Exchange ActiveSync or Lotus Notes to manage the devices connecting to email and other corporate resources. Be aware that these agents do have considerable drawbacks:

• Compliance monitoring is not possible
• Selective wiping is not possible
• Reporting functionality is very limited

Optimize Your Android Policy in Four Steps

Once you have identified a means to manage your mobile devices, you are ready to get started creating policy to keep your end-users in line from their smartphones and tablets.

1) Start with Profile Management:

• Denote which Apps, Resources, and/or Documents users will have access to
• Set restrictions
• Apply security settings

2) Corporate email, WiFi, and VPN Configuration all fall into the same bucket. Make sure you:

• Secure data
• If lost, you need to be able to locate it and wipe if necessary
• Keep in mind MDM is only option to set up requirements and implement device control

3) Consider how you will manage applications on devices:

• Full access to apps? Limited? No apps?
• Blacklist or Whitelist applications?
• What compliance rules do you want to set, and how will you take action?

4) Will you enforce encryption? Keep in mind:

• IT can protect sensitive data through encryption
• Encryption comes standard on Android devices running 3.0 and above
• You can leverage MDM to force users to encrypt sensitive data

Take Automated Actions with Mobile Device Management

You may have noticed mobile device management comes in handy when implementing policy on your Android devices. Here are more ways a mobile device management solution can assist (where a mail client cannot) in the process of taking automated actions when devices become non-compliant:

• Send Alerts to user or admin when apps exist that shouldn’t be there or not meeting set policy

• Restrictions or Wipes
  • Removal of access to corporate resources such as Email, WiFi, and VPN
  • Selective or Full Wipe of the Device

• Merge
  • Android fragmentation can cause multiple devices to appear after enrollment
  • Using MaaS360, you can auto-merge device IDs via the Cloud Extender

Things to Consider Before Rolling Out MDM

Once you are ready to make the jump to mobile device management, make sure you have a realistic policy that takes into account device variety and the presence of employee-owned devices. Enforce basic security precautions such as password protection. We recommend a multi-platform inventory tool that will grant awareness of how many devices are connecting to the corporate network and the information required to make informed decisions. Once this tool is put into use, you’ll be able to discover unsupported devices to aid in troubleshooting users to connect securely and safely.

Science fiction enthusiasts have waited for this day. “Star Trek” had the universal translator to speak in galactic tongues, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” had the earwig Babblefish that made all language common.

While we still don’t need to speak to alien races (yet), global sourcing and a smaller world in general have shown that multilingual individuals have a leg up in the world from their mono-lingual counterparts.

So, in how many languages can you express yourself? If the answer is less than 30, skip the Rosetta Stone lessons and simply pay 99 cents on the iTunes App store for SayHi Translate. With SayHi Translate your iOS device just slightly evolved into the tricorder of tomorrow.

Looking for an app to distribute to iOS devices?

Let SayHi Translate be one of your go-to’s. Living in a diversely cultured world and working in a global economy, this application proves to be invaluable in how it evens the plane between workers and dissimilar speakers in any situation. So long as their iPhone is in hand, users can respond with haste and accuracy, and perhaps learn something new along the way. If users are communicating through SMS or email, the app allows translated text to be copied, pasted, and sent in a matter of seconds.

How mobile application management can help

This app (and more like it) can be pushed to corporate and employee-owned devices with relative ease by leveraging mobile application management (MAM) in complement to a mobile device management (MDM) solution. By using MaaS360, you can address your iPhone management and iPad management needs while taking advantage of MAM.

All it takes is a few moments. An IT director can feature SayHi Translate in their account’s enterprise application catalog and the downloads will ensue. Or, he or she could distribute this application via MaaS360′s AppCloud to distribute this application to your iOS devices. If you have a team headed to a foreign country for an event, you can narrow down this group in the portal and push the app directly to them— what they’ll need to exchange ideas and develop new opportunities.

Try out MaaS360 today for your iOS, Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone devices. After a quick device enrollment, you’ll be well on your way to managing employee apps through the cloud.

Shortly after Steve Jobs’ passing in October, many of his mourners expressed a similar sentiment: not only do people love Apple products, they see the products as extensions of themselves.

What makes the bring your own device (BYOD) trend so powerful is the permission granted to use one’s personally-owned device—the one they are “fused with—to get the job done. Unsuprisingly, this makes them better workers, according to Grant McTaggart, and executive at Best Buy Canada.

Bring Your Own Device a Big Success for Best Buy

McTaggart described Best Buy Canada’s successful BYOD program in a recent piece for the Vancouver Sun. The program gave workers three options. They could choose a basic smartphone at no cost, pay a small fee for a mid-level device, or a larger fee for an advanced mobile device. Once purchased, employees were permitted to use it at work or bring it home for personal use.

Since launching the program, the company has seen a less than 1 percent breakage of mobile devices. This is down from more than 10 percent prior to the program,

Mobile Device Security a Top Concern

Security was a concern for Best Buy in the early days of its BYOD program, McTaggart wrote. Since implementing a cloud-based mobile device management (MDM) solution, workers have earned the ability to tap in to resources anytime, anywhere, and access programs or data in a secure fashion.

McTaggart admitted the MDM solution they chose will not work for every company. However, cloud-based MDM solutions are flexible; a company typically selects the MDM solution with feature sets that line up best with its business model.

Security features can differ depending on the solution. For example, by leveraging MaaS360′s mobile application management (MAM) feature, IT directors have the unique option to host and distribute mobile apps via the AppCloud. Once accessed, users are prompted to provide sufficient authentication prior to download for increased security.

Don’t be deterred by issues around security [...] The solutions and security measures are our there to make this type of program work and benefit both your company and your employees.

- Grant McTaggart, VP Administration & Corporate HR, Best Buy Canada

Looking for…

• iPhone management
• iPad management
• Android management

…or have a healthy combination of all device types?

Take advantage of our month-long free trial. Evaluate MaaS360 for your mobile device security needs:

by Jonathan Dale, Fiberlink Product Marketing Manager

What’s your take on Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) programs? As more businesses open their doors to personally-owned smartphones and laptops, cause for concern increases in degree for all parties involved.

On the surface, BYOD programs pose more perks than they do problems. IT leadership can shift their focus away from inventory investments and employees are given the option to bring their favorite iPad, iPhone, or Android from home. So who is complaining? More folks than you may suspect.

There exists a unique side to BYOD that few have ventured into since the concept’s recent onset. Specifically, how can a given organization alleviate end-user privacy concerns amid IT’s pursuit to achieve 100% network security? Joined by guest presenter Chris Hazelton of 451 Research, I set out to answer this question at last week’s MaaSters Webinar.

Our ultimate goal was to cure common headaches that are sure to arise during implementation: How can one ensure their colleagues understand the ins and outs of the BYOD program? How does their participation and cooperation benefit the greater whole? How can policy coupled with the right tools protect the privacy of their personal information?

If you’d like to access the slides, poll results, or on-demand recording of the webinar prior to reading the recap, all can be found in this MaaSters Center post.

Mobile Device Management and Bring Your Own Device Go Hand-in-Hand

It all starts with what’s on the device. Once employees bring their own devices to work and connect to the corporate network, the content on that device is inevitably coming along for the ride. To obtain true iPhone, iPad, and Android security, you must secure the movement of data across these devices and ensure employees remain in compliance.

Mobile device management (MDM) gives IT the power to push the right apps and content to these devices. Further, it makes it possible to keep the entire device inventory up to date on the latest OS version; a strong security consideration. Mobile expense management (MEM) features that come with select MDM platforms offer the additional benefit of cost savings.

So we’ve established the need for vision, control, and management over the BYOD fueled device inventory. Now how we get the mobile end-users to buy-in?

How MDM Benefits End-Users

At any given time, an employee’s personal information is either at rest on their device or traveling between the smartphones and tablets of their friends, family, and colleagues. MDM answers the call to keep that information in bounds through secure document sharing. In the event that the device is lost or stolen, you have a means to recover music, photos, and conversations–many times irreplaceable memories. The ability to remove data through full or selective wiping translates to identity theft prevention, fraudulent banking activity, and/or unauthorized use of one’s Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter account.

Once a user enrolls their iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows Phone, or BlackBerry in an MDM service, they can carry out their work and be responsive from any location. While it does extend the workday beyond traditional hours, it allows them to do work in a way that works for them. Depending on their occupation, they have the opportunity to get creative by choosing a device that is most appropriate for that task. For example, the high resolution display on the new iPad is a go-to for persons in graphic design.

How MDM Benefits CIOs and IT Administrators

All factors considered, the prospect of BYOD implementation sounds much like opening Pandora’s box. More devices in the corporate ecosystem means more operating systems and applications to account for. Luckily, with MDM, IT can calm the chaos of BYOD.

Mobile device management helps IT confront the real world risks on the table when employee-owned devices are in use:
- Quick configuration
- Set security policies and enforcement
- Email enablement
- Troubleshoot device issues
- Locate lost or stolen devices
- Wipe personal data when needed (full wipe)
- Wipe only corporate data (selective wipe)
- Push the apps you need
- Be compliant with regulations

These smartphones and tablets must be locked down–especially if they contain company or customer data. Depending on your industry, the sensitivity of information on the devices under control is of extremely high value. By leveraging MDM, this data can be pushed to the edge in a secure fashion so employees can react quickly to customer needs or competitive threats.

Your Plan of Attack with MDM

So now that you are more clear on the benefits of using MDM in conjunction with BYOD, where should you start? At a high level, here is a recommended path:

1) Implement MDM across your device population
2) Provide each tier of user groups a level of service based on the requirements and regulations that apply to them
- The rules won’t apply to everybody; some staff are not facing confidential information
- Consider applying more stringent rules on those with more visibility into sensitive data
3) Test out MDM on user groups unlikely to have sensitive information on their devices, then begin applying MDM elsewhere

Delve into the specifics; click and view the on-demand recording of Best Practices for Implementing a BYOD Program.

Mobile Device Security Can Scream Big Brother

Upon receiving their MDM enrollment request, users will be suspicious about where their information is going. Worse, the information yet to come; where they’ll be at 2am on Saturday night, or what WiFi network they are connecting to after work hours.

The IT administrator needs to be conscious of these concerns from the get-go. Viewing a given user’s entire app inventory is an invasion of privacy. Depending on what is on the device, it could cause embarrassment. Another concern is who the content really belongs to; companies are being taken to court for wiping end-users’ personal device content. So where do you turn to avoid a butting of heads on this topic?

1) Educate End-Users
- Explain the benefits of MDM, what can and cannot be viewed from the administrative portal, the Acceptable Use Policy, and real world risks
- Emphasize that in exchange for their cooperation, employees will be awarded the flexibility benefits of using their personal device

2) Don’t Go It Alone
-  Work with all levels of management to educate end-users
- HR and Legal can be particularly effective in communicating the business need and incorporating MDM policies into new employee training

3) Set Firm Ground Rules
- When rolling out MDM, make sure you keep password protection at the top of your to-do list
- Consider requiring a 4 digit numeric password
- Limit password attempts…but not too much
- Control device inactivity

4) Keep Hands Off Personal Data
- This will ensure user buy-in
- Maintain awareness of apps that access corporate data only
- Control movement of corporate documents
- Protect personal apps (mobile banking, social networks, healthcare, etc…) with BYOD Security Settings

5) PII is TMI
- Personally Identifiable Information (PII) can be a minefield for corporate IT administrators
- By leveraging BYOD Security Settings, IT can focus on corporate data only
- Knowledge of personal apps, location information, WiFi access points, and IP address is simply too much information

As more small and medium businesses (SMBs) permit employees to bring their own Android smartphones and tablets to work, the need for adequate mobile device management (MDM) increases. Hence at Android Solutions for Business, an event recently held at the Toronto Board of Trade, one of the hottest topics on the table was Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) programs.

MDM Eases Mobile Device Control, Security, and Privacy Concerns

Event attendees made a special effort to bring questions about mobile device management into the greater discussion, striving to learn more about device control, network security, and protection of private information in a BYOD work world.

Up to this point, small business owners and some medium sized companies have adopted a “be your own IT manager” mindset in response to BYOD, IT World reports. It is easy to see why this has occurred; workers are using a variety of different devices for work purposes and lack the presence of a CIO. As a result, management is picking up the slack where the absence is felt. The situation is leading to a new relationship among business leaders, device makers, service providers and mobile device management vendors.

Not Your Father’s Enterprise Mobility

In the traditional mobile enablement model, hardware companies made the devices, and in turn businesses bought or leased them in bulk for use by their staff. Service providers were then engaged to enable the devices for use. Today’s workers are choosing which devices to use at work. To help manage these devices, SMBs are turning to MDM providers, telecommunications companies and even the hardware makers.

“They need help to get through all that complex decision making process,” said Tisha Rattos, director of small business marketing at Rogers Communications. “There’s so much [mobile technology] out there. How do you start to make them all work?”

Bring Your Own Device Best Practices, Please!

According to experts consulted by IT World, the top questions from small business owners are:
1- How to keep in touch with staff remotely in real time
2- How to keep devices secure on the network
3- How to address devices that are compromised or stolen

SMB owners who are acting as their own IT managers may be interested in viewing an on-demand webinar recording recently presented by Val Hetrick, Director of Customer Success at Fiberlink. The recording lays out best practices for implementing a BYOD program; answering the above questions and more in specific detail.

Click here to view a recording of Best Practices for Implementing a BYOD Program or read a recap on the MaaS360 blog.

Looking to learn more about mobile device management (MDM)?

In a recent interview by WatchIT.com, I broke down three separate but equally important topics in the growing enterprise mobility space, and shared why pro-mobile enterprises should look to the award winning MaaS360 as their preferred device security and management service.

If you’re looking to learn, I encourage you to watch each video. You’ll find out how MaaS360′s cloud-based MDM platform can be leveraged to perform secure document sharing, mobile application management (MAM), and bring your own device (BYOD) program implementation.

Click here to try out the Best Enterprise Mobile Service free for 30 days

Fiberlink’s Approach to Enterprise Mobility Management

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Cloud-based Mobile Device Security

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Mobile Secure Document Sharing

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Bring Your Own Device and Mobile Device Management

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Mobile Application Management

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by John Harrington, Fiberlink

The consumerization of IT has mobile workers and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) enthusiasts knocking at the door of the enterprise. Some organizations have been quick to answer the call; rapidly expanding well-established programs for mobile device usage and management. Others remain a bit more pensive in their strategy formation.  When it comes to mobile device management (MDM), Gartner analysts believe new and expanding programs should be driven by clearly defined and measurable business objectives.

At Gartner’s MDM Summit held earlier this month in Los Angeles, novices were advised to research and closely follow widely accepted best practices, such as data modeling. The research firm also urged less established MDM adopters to track business process changes that come with newly established device security measures, according to a Search Data Management write-up of the event.

Addressing the more experienced crowd, Gartner analysts encouraged reliance on proven MDM-related governance and data quality processes as much as possible when enforcing mobile device security throughout the enterprise.

Note to IT: A Vested Interest Required

Whether an organization is just getting started with MDM or taking their management capabilities to the next level, it is crucial that IT leadership remains engaged and proactive. A recent report shows regulations over mobile device usage in the healthcare sector, for example, have created a “false sense of security,” the study’s authors asserting that organizations must go beyond mandated best practices to create and implement more specialized solutions.

Based on learnings from this year’s Gartner event, there are a few stepping stones that can be overcome to optimize a given MDM program. Many companies, for example, are having a hard time expanding their MDM  beyond one domain, such as product or customer. Other challenges can be more basic; a new adopter of MDM may struggle to convince executive leadership the true value of MDM.

Companies struggling in these areas can learn from Ganesh Prabhu (IT Manager) and Paru Mahesh (Data Quality Manager). Both Prabhu and Mahesh attended the MDM Summit to get more information on launching an internal MDM program at their San Francisco-based tech company. They currently preparing a mobile device security presentation for their company’s executives.

“One key thing is to find the real operational efficiencies that you will get out of the project, and some of the key metrics once the solution is in place,” Prabhu told SDM. “Once you know the key benefits the business will have, it becomes a much simpler business case to make to executives.”

Leverage the Right Tools, Achieve Desired Results

The complexity of this process can differ depending on the MDM solution an organization uses to manage its mobile devices. Some vendors have recognized the need to evaluate and present findings prior to purchase. Aiming to make this process an easy one, MaaS360 offers demos, walkthrough webinars, and a month long free trial to IT administrators looking to get started with MDM. In minutes, a manager can set-up MaaS360 services, configure device enrollment settings, enroll devices, and begin implementing policy.

Once corporate and employee-owned iPhones, iPads, Androids, Windows Phone, and BlackBerry devices are up and running on the portal, the administrator will have full control over the devices, and have the opportunity to explore each feature of the MaaS360 service: mobile application management (MAM), secure document sharing, and mobile expense management (MEM).

No matter what your project calls for, you’ll have the tools to make it happen. When it comes time to present the case for MaaS360 to executives, a quick dive into advanced reporting & analytics will help back positive claims with promising statistics. Let no questions be unheard along the way; your MaaSters Center account grants you contact with one of our experts whenever needed.

Interested in signing up for a free trial of MaaS360? Click to try out cloud-based MDM for iOS, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone devices for 30 days.

Bring Your Own Device

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) programs have generated a lot of buzz and excitement. But who is more excited? The IT administrator, tasked with managing an influx of new devices? Or workers who’ve been permitted to use their once leisure-only smartphones and tablets for work purposes? Right now, no matter which side of the fence you stand on, the grass is looking greener on the other side.

IT’s Aspirations: Security and Protection

Mobile workers may experience an uptick in productivity by using their preferred device at the office, but this is not the area of concern. At present, IT lacks a much sought confidence that end-users will live up to their expectations. The administrator is losing sleep over more pressing issues. Tossing and turning in the night, they ponder worst case scenarios pertaining to passcode protection. And applications… Do any of them pose security risk to the corporate network (and confidential data contained therein)? What if they aren’t connected to the corporate network via WiFi? Does that mean they are eating up our company data plan? These concerns are just the tip of the iceburg. As more phones and tablets are released to consumers, the issue increases in degree of complication.

IT’s number one priority: set clear cut rules via policy that can in turn be plugged in and enforced through a mobile device management (MDM) solution. A cloud-based solution such as MaaS360 makes it possible to view all of your devices on one screen, and push policy to the entire device inventory in seconds instead of minutes. Fear not the next big tablet from Apple, or phablet from Samsung. MaaS360 covers all of your bases; meeting your iOS device management, Android management, Windows Phone management, and BlackBerry management needs.

End-users Seek Privacy of Personal Information

Now if we peer over the other side of the fence, we will find the IT admin’s colleagues; the end-users of devices brought from home. This group is just as concerned about privacy and security. It does not necessarily involve the greater whole; moreso themselves. No matter which platform they are running on, they have an app store with hundreds of thousands of applications to choose from. They probably have a camera on their device, and have many pictures stored on their phone that they’d like to keep personal. Though they’ve been provided a corporate email address, they use a personal handle to communicate with friends and family.

Once the decision has been made to use a dual-purpose device (work and home), the files and conversations aren’t going anywhere. By connecting to the corporate network and/or enrolling in a mobile device management (MDM) service, users fear their files and conversations will attract interest from unwanted eyes.

Opportunely, MaaS360 makes it possible to block the viewing of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) on smartphones and tablets. By working this schema into corporate-use policy & enabling this feature, the admin will have no knowledge of apps on the device other than those that appear in the corporate app catalog. Further, no location information will be surrendered. Physical address, geographical coordinates, IP address and SSID will all be kept private to the user.

Finding Common Ground

Perhaps the combination of MDM and protection of PII is all your organization needs to get its BYOD program up and running. What do you think? Weigh in below in the comments, no matter what side of the fence you stand on.

Are you looking to find a balance between IT and end-users at your organization? Join us for next week’s webinar BYOD: Striking a Balance—Employee Privacy and IT Governance and learn best practices from expert in mobility, Chris Hazelton of 451 Research.

If you’ve taken flight since the start of the digital age, you know its a FAA regulation to have your personal electronic device (PED) powered off during takeoff and landing. This fact can be verified by Alec Baldwin. The rule remains in effect for good reason; according to the FAA, “at a lower altitude, any potential interference could be more of a safety hazard as the cockpit crew focuses on critical arrival and departure duties.”

What about pilots? After receiving an O.K. from the FAA last year, American Airlines began adopting the iPad in the cockpit, questioning why pilots should be restricted from using mobile applications to replace their foot-thick barbell-heavy manuals. Today, other airlines such as United are showing why there’s more reason to allow them than to hold back.

Why the iPad Belongs in the Sky

Erica Ogg of Gigaom published a blog yesterday that laid out the benefits straight from the mouth of her husband, a search-and-rescue helicopter pilot. He is currently restricted from using the iPad during flight, but has plenty to occupy himself with preflight preparations. It all comes down to the apps.

Tapping into Foreflight for example allows him to bring up aviation charts similar to what he would have to lug onboard separate from the device, with the added benefit of satellite weather imagery. It shows where the clouds are, where it will be hot or cold, where it will be windy or rainy. You can also visualize just where TFRs (temporary flight restriction areas) are located.

Were he able to use this app while in the air, perhaps he’d see increased success in his search-and-rescue efforts. Using Foreflight off the ground would be just like Garmin in the car—providing your exact location at any given moment. An added benefit: the charts he would have to carry onboard are made available through the application. Some of which need to be updated (by law) more than 6 times a year can be downloaded in a just a few seconds.

An application such as PDF Expert makes it possible to store these manuals and categorize them for easy access. The app that will run you close to 10 dollars will loosen your load by dozens of pounds. These changes can save money on gas for aircraft where every extra pound hurts gas mileage.

Apps such as Foreflight and PDF Expert are just the tip of the iceburg. Other apps such as Checklist (for pre-flight inspections), LogTen Pro (for use as a logbook), and WnB (to check aircraft weight and balance) can be leveraged to loosen the load and increase efficiency.

iOS Device Management for Pilots

The above information comes from the mouth of just one pilot. Imagine how many more own iPads, know how to use them, but are restricted from in cockpit use! Aside from cellular interference, there are other barriers to adoption to take into consideration. These include iPad security, iPad management, and mobile application management (MAM) concerns.

Using a mobile device management (MDM) solution, those in charge of managing devices used by pilots can overcome these barriers. MaaS360, a cloud-based MDM platform, makes it possible to instate policy that requires all devices enrolled are up-to-date on the latest OS version to ensure security. Further, the mobile applications on these iPads can be managed in accordance with policy.

Apps such as Foreflight, PDF Expert, Checklist, LogTen Pro, and WnB can be pushed to all enrolled iPads to ensure pilots have the right tools at their disposal. To avoid an Alec Baldwin-like altercation in the cockpit, the administrator can blacklist Words With Friends and other apps that belong off screen during flight.

If you aren’t in transportation, see how you can leverage MaaS360 in your industry.

Since its unveiling in 2007, the Google Android mobile operating system has become the best selling in the world. Four OS updates later, much of the mobile world remains in the dark with regard to what makes the platform so great. At yesterday’s webinar, I made an attempt to string together the lesser-known facts about Android in hopes to give our viewers a chance to better understand of its security, management, and productivity benefits.

If you’d like to access the slides, poll results, or on-demand recording of the webinar, all can be found in this MaaSters Center post.

Naming Operating System Releases

The first mystery may come as no mystery at all, but serves as a good a warm up for novice knowers. Each software release Android has had to-date relates to dessert items. What you may not know: each of these names came in alphabetical order, and the first two were unreleased to the public (I wonder what they were–any guesses?). If you ever have a chance to visit Google’s headquarters, pay special note to the statues that have been erected to commemorate the release of each software update. To date, Android has released the following updates: Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, and Ice Cream Sandwich. What’s up next? Well, we’ll just have to see. Until then, it remains a mystery.

Taking Screenshots on an Android Device

If you own an Android 4.0 or newer, you can now use the power button in combination with the volume down button to take a screenshot. Some vendors such as Asus have added their own screenshot shortcuts. If you have a pre-4.0 Android device, there is no built-in way. There are however a few workarounds to this inconvenience. There are a few options available on the Android Market, or what is now Google Play, but keep in mind you will have to root your device to make use of them. Alternatively, you can use Google SDK tools, such as droidatscreen.

Fragmentation

One of the most spoken about aspects of the Android operating system is fragmentation; the OS is pretty well split across the Android space. Fragmentation has occurred due to variety in the following areas: deployed OS versions, hardware specifications, and vendor/mobile provider customizations. It has earned itself a negative reputation for a few reasons, but on the whole isn’t as bad as you’d think. For one, it allows for more flexibility and individuality. It also makes it possible for development of additional features. In a lot of ways, its getting better. The proportion of devices with 2.2.x and above is growing. In fact, more than 60% of Androids are on version 2.3.x. These devices come enabled with built-in security features, which is great from a corporate use standpoint. Earlier versions are falling off the map, so you may begin hearing less complaints about staggered update releases, development drawbacks, and feature inconsistencies as more time goes on.

Encryption

Android 3.x and 4.x natively support encryption, which can only be undone by resetting the device. On these OS versions, encryption is hardware-based.

On pre-3.x software versions, vendors such as Motorola and Samsung had encryption built-in. Motorola has made it optional–giving you the power to decide what will and won’t be encrypted. Samsung has featured encryption on a few of their smartphone models. Other than vendor-based encryption, a few third-party applications make it possible. TouchDown by NitroDesk for example makes it possible to encrypt email. Your encryption status can be made readable by other security apps.

Sense, Blur, TouchWiz… What?!

It’s okay if you don’t know what these terms mean. If you have a Samsung, Motorola, or HTC device, you may know one or two. Essentially, these names are a way for vendors to show their creativity–to differentiate themselves from one another with their interface. Because Google made Android open source, these vendors took advantage and added their own twist and flavor by making their own interfaces. Samsung created TouchWiz, Motorola made Blur, and HTC featured Sense. If you’re Vanilla, it means you dont have a custom interface.

So what do I mean by custom interface? You’ll notice differences in a few areas. For one, the homescreen or dock could be different. The way you scroll could be either side to side or up and down. Some interfaces have their own custom applications or widgets, even shortcuts.

What is CyanogenMod?

Not sure? This is a custom firmware (ROM) for Android devices. It’s only possible because of Androids open source software. Like my earlier mention of 3rd party screensharing apps, you’ll need root access to take advantage.

CyanogenMod allows users to choose which apps appear on their device. If yours came with advertisements and applications from a vendor, you can have them removed and replaced with apps of your choosing. You can also change the look of the interface. One of the coolest I’ve seen mirrored Windows Phone 7, which by no means has a bad look at all. CyanogenMod also makes it possible to test out new software versions that would otherwise be blocked.

Google Reference Devices

Ever heard of these? Google Reference Devices were designed to run base Google code, or stock Android ROM. There’s a different device for each new software release. Past devices have included the HTC Nexus One (for 2.2), Samsung Nexus S (for 2.3), Motorola Xoom (3.0), and Samsung Galaxy Nexus (4.0). For the most part, Google has remained relatively vendor neutral, demonstrating their softwares’ applicability on all devices irrespective of brand.

There are a few benefits that come with owning a reference device. You are the first to get the software, and you can start developing with the new software right away. There’s no vendor code or customizations that you have to deal with–you get the pure Android experience on these machines

Timing and Availability Limitations

There are a multitude of factors that play into timing and availability limitations of the Android OS to existing versions. For one, there’s limitation and variation in hardware specifications. Each device has different capabilities, making it all the more difficult to expedite the process. Vendor and or provider customization (as mentioned in previous sections) does tend to slow it down as well.

Android Makes the World Go Round

Did you think Android was solely chained to smartphones and tablets? It’s getting spread around in so many ways, soon everything electronic could be Android powered (okay, maybe not everything). In addition to smartphones and laptops, exercise equipment (treadmills, exercise bikes), refrigerators, televisions, and car stereos run on Android. Looking into the future, Google has hopes for Android@Home, which should synchronize all of your electronic home appliances. Your iHome will no longer depend on a direct connection to your device. Instead, it will sync with your phone or computer and get the song information the easy way.

It’s a Worker Droid!

If you’re a BYOD believer, you already know. Androids are being used as business devices, and with more prevalence since the release of Android version 2.0. The open source nature of Android has made it just that much easier to do. Third-party mobile device management (MDM) tools have given IT administrators great control and monitoring of their corporate and employee-owned devices connecting to the corporate network.

Cloud to Device Messaging (C2DM) is one feature that has been taken advantage of in the workplace, available on 2.2 and above. Essentially, this allows the tech administrator to ping the device, and say “hey, come talk to me for a second.” The device then heartbeats back in with whatever the administrator requests. Since the release of version 3.0, Android has come with hardware level encryption, making adoption more practical (alleviating privacy and security concerns that come with use of Android devices).

Mobile device management solutions today can manage Androids in a variety of ways, no matter what the management policy calls for. MaaS360 for example gives the administrators mobile application management (MAM) capabilities, giving them the monitoring and enforcement controls they are looking for. If Androids are found to be out of compliance, the admin can then remotely or selectively wipe the device. If your policy calls for passcode enforcement, roaming restrcition, GPS, or BYOD privacy settings, mobile device management is the best means for management on Androids, iPhones, iPads, and other smartphones and tablets.