BlueFort Security Ltd -

A CEO's enthusiasm for the Apple iPad has led to an IT manager deploying MobileIron technology for the enabled sales force.

Speaking to SC Magazine, Robert Cockerill, IT manager at asset and investment firm Thames River Capital, said that his CEO had used an iPad and become so enthused about it that he decided to equip the firms 40-strong workforce with the device.

Cockerill said: “We did support the iPhone and one is easy to manage, but as this is used as a laptop would be there are different challenges. We support Windows Mobile devices but with the iPad users are slightly more protective of their devices. The procurement was a challenge as you cannot go to the Apple store and buy 40 iPads so we had time to learn how to manage them and that led us to where we are now.”

Thames River Capital has now deployed technology from MobileIron due to its ability to support and manage the broadest range of  mobile operating systems, including Blackberry, iPhone and iPad, as well as remotely manage the data on them.

Now with the MobileIron technology in place, Cockerill is able to set role-based, granular policies to ensure that only approved, compliant devices (whether corporate or employee-owned) are able to access the corporate network. The solution also creates clear boundaries between personal and business data on employee-owned devices, for example, the lost phone lock and wipe functionality is activated by the user, but configured by IT to ensure enterprise data privacy.

Cockerill said: “It is not that they are viewing anything that is highly confidential, we operate 'Chinese walls' between teams here and we are FSA regulated so we would be in a whole mess if we got it wrong. As soon as we install devices that move we need to be sure that what is on them is controlled.

“Our CEO saw the iPad being used and for a sales person it is ideal as it looks professional, it sits flat on a desk and is more informal for presentations compared to a laptop. Everybody wants it and it is highly desirable and users will play with it. Some users will have their own and will want to use that, before they could not use it for work but now they can but we will be managing it.”

In order to select the vendor, Thames River Capital turned to its IT partner BlueFort Security to implement a solution that could control the devices accessing the network and critically, mitigate the risk of sensitive data falling into the wrong hands from either lost or stolen mobile devices.

Ian Jennings, Technical Director at BlueFort, said: “Companies have learned that once you've opened the door with ActiveSync, anyone can get it and you have no idea who they are or what they're doing. For Thames River Capital, it was essential we provide a technology that had been field-tested and proven by other customers. We researched a number of options with them, and MobileIron's Virtual Smartphone Platform was the clear winner.”