Vancouver’s Absolute Software Releases Turnkey BYOD Support for iOS, Android, and Windows

Bad news for RIM’s BlackBerry today. Vancouver’s Absolute Software, a provider of firmware-embedded, endpoint security and management solutions, has released Absolute Manage 6.1, which includes expanded Bring Your Own Device support for smartphones and laptops.

Absolute Manage 6.1 makes BYOD a viable option for businesses in the sense that it automates workflows for IT departments, so staff doesn’t have to enroll each employee on the corporate network on a device-by-device basis. But that’s not all. The software also includes some addition Mobile Application Management tools—MDM being the saviour of BYOD’s feasability—such as the ability to install and remove apps silently and even automatically based on device status or the employee’s role in the organization. There are also various automated commands, such as alerts, device demotion, turning off roaming data, and sending messages to specific users.

“Given the rapid growth of tablets and smartphones in the workplace, BYOD is the biggest challenge facing IT organizations today,” states John Livingston, Chairman and CEO of Absolute Software. “Absolute Manage helps IT overcome this challenge by delivering a solution to manage the security risks associated with employee-owned devices accessing corporate networks and data.”

And the Canadian technology company says that it has also crafted a BYOD Policy Implementation Guide that provides a “thoughtful yet succinct process” broken down into three basic steps so that organizations can easily build and launch their own BYOD policy.