Cloud Computing: Mobile Devices Get Active Directory Protection
February 17, 2012
Centrify is going into the mobile business in support of iOS and Android phones and tablets.
The move involves putting its multi-platform support for Microsoft’s Active Directory on its own cloud so companies can protect the increasing ubiquitous BYOD they need to control and secure whether they’re on the corporate network or not.
It promises an organization can re-use its Active Directory investment without deploying a complex new infrastructure or dealing with yet another "pane of glass" in the form of another standalone management console…
Its new enterprise-scale subscription-based cloud service is called DirectControl for Mobile and harnesses a company’s existing on-premise Active Directory infrastructure, skill sets, familiar processes, and group policy-based management tools to enforce and update mobile security settings, lock or remotely wipe devices, automate the configuration of each user’s authentication credentials, e-mail, Wi-Fi and VPN settings and reduce helpdesk traffic.
Centrify’s also got a free version of the widgetry called Centrify Express for Mobile that it figures is the industry’s first and only free mobile security offering with no limit on the number of devices that can be supported.
Other than support there’s little to no difference now between the free and the paid versions but there will be down the road, according to Centrify CEO Tom Kemp. He also said the widgetry could eventually be extended to Microsoft devices depending on how Microsoft means to support them.
Kemp describes the enterprise as being knocked off its pins by the mobile wave, uncertain how to support the devices. Centrify’s free model will allow companies the time to evaluate the widgetry, figure out how many devices they need to cover and to budget. The only alternative is standalone schemes.
DirectControl for Mobile reportedly lets organizations quickly bring large populations of authorized mobile devices under management using automated self-enrollment without deploying additional infrastructure, changing firewall configurations or operating yet another management console.
The solution maximizes security and visibility through centralized management and reporting of enrolled devices and installed applications, and through security policy enforcement of devices across the entire organization.
It’s supposed to simplify reporting of enrolled devices, installed applications and device update status across the entire organization. It can also detect and block the enrollment of jail-broken devices
Centrify offers a unified platform for Mac OS X, Unix and Linux systems and now the mobile devices as well as web and enterprise applications.
Centrify DirectControl for Mobile and Centrify Express for Mobile are integrated components of Centrify Suite 2012. Moving forward, Centrify Cloud Service will be the company’s platform to extend the suite to additional cloud-based devices, systems and applications. Kemp said, "This announcement is a significant step in implementing our vision to deliver unified access management solutions across both on-premise and cloud-based resources."
DirectControl for Mobile, which includes technical support, starts at $24 per device per year, and will be generally available next quarter.
Centrify Express for Mobile is available now under early access.
The wiping and reporting features won’t be available until a 1.1 release this summer.