Security Apps Boost Apple As BlackBerry Alternative

A slew of small security software developers are helping Apple’s iPhone gain a foothold within corporations that were once the exclusive domain of Research In Motion’s BlackBerry. The shift reflects efforts by some companies to accommodate the preference of many employees for Apple’s iconic smartphone, a trend that has led software makers to develop programs to deliver secure email and other data over the iPhone.

To be sure, the status of BlackBerry’s security features as the industry standard is not under threat. But the new programs could mean that many employees may no longer have to carry a company-sponsored BlackBerry in addition to their store-bought iPhones. One company that is experimenting is Deutsche Bank. In conjunction with California-based software maker Good Technology, the German bank is delivering corporate email to some employees in a trial that its internal analyst said was “overwhelmingly positive” despite some minor flaws. “You’re seeing consumers, or employees, bring their iPhones in to IT managers and ‘say make this work,’” said Deutsche’s Chris Whitmore.

Good and other security specialists like MobileIron and NetHawk are developing programs that can provide the extra assurances required by financial services and healthcare providers, which require airtight communications. “What they’re very good at doing is going into an enterprise where they’re very concerned about security and say we’re going to beef up the iPhone and iPad because they’re not very secure,” analyst Jack Gold of J.Gold Associates said, referring to Good Technologies. “It basically puts a lockbox around an unsecure device,” he said.

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The problem for RIM is that many employees, including senior executives, want to use other devices, said Matthew Thornton, an analyst from Avian Securities. On top of that, Thornton said, corporate budget officials want to push ownership of the devices out to the employee, saving the company the expense of buying the BlackBerry. Acutely aware of the challenge, RIM has unveiled its own program, called BlackBerry Balance, to address the issue. Balance would allow a BlackBerry user effectively to keep management-controlled apps separate from personal apps run on a single device.

In the Deutsche iPhone trial, users need to log into the Good Technologies app to access corporate information and exit again to update their Facebook status, for example. BlackBerry Balance would not require the user to log in and out, providing a more seamless experience between work and personal apps for the user. Good Technology, a privately held company that Motorola bought in 2006 and sold in early 2009, manages many of the functions offered on the BlackBerry, including calendars and contact lists that are accessible and sync to Microsoft Outlook on the user’s desktop.