Mirapoint and Nokia forge security alliance for mobile e-mail use
Smartphones and push mail services have made it possible to use e-mail from almost any location. Increasingly, companies are equipping their staff with such devices - according to estimates from IDC, by 2009 one in four employees will be using mobile e-mail. Market research company Osterman Research is even more optimistic, projecting a figure of more than 40 percent.
At the same time, Osterman is warning of security risks associated with mobile use - to date just 40 percent of mobile devices in use deploy anti-virus software. In contrast, hardly any companies forego such security measures for internal communication. As a vendor of security appliances, Mirapoint has now teamed up with smartphone manufacturer Nokia to develop a joint solution for secure mobile access to e-mails.
Among other things, the cooperation will involve adapting Nokia's Intellisync Mobile Suite for Mirapoint appliances. By doing so, the two companies hope to create a solution which achieves the same level of security as that offered by company networks and which is scalable for up to 5-figure user numbers. By using remote back-ups and data deletion, companies should also be protected from damage as a result of loss of the mobile device. According to research by Osterman, seven percent of staff from the companies surveyed have suffered such a loss.
(mba)