Aruba intros 'network-fluent' WorkSpace BYOD management platform

Aruba Networks is responding to the BYOD trend with what the network solutions provider is boasting to be the first product to integrate network, device and application management.

Aruba WorkSpace falls within the company's ClearPass Access Management System portfolio, built with the intention to offer streamlined and automated BYOD deployments without compromising privacy.

It's also described to be "network-fluent" because it is built on an enterprise network policy system, which is said to mean that higher network priority can be automatically redirected and assigned to specific work applications.

For example, if an employee's mobile device connects to an untrusted network, WorkSpace can automatically set up an app-specific VPN to encrypt traffic and provide access to the internal network's resources.

The other option is that WorkSpace could just restrict network access altogether, which would be the case if a device is jail-broken and/or hosts apps unapproved by IT.

In an attempt to fill those app gaps so users don't download unapproved apps on their own, Aruba is wrangling together its partners to create an ecosystem of mobile apps.

Dubbed the Aruba Workspace Partner Program, the community already is offering more than 40 apps at launch time, including representation from Jive, Cisco, IBM, Box, and SugarSync, among a few dozen others.

Any other vendors looking to get into the Workspace Partner Program can register on the Aruba WorkSpace site for a toolkit that they can apply to their application.

WorkSpace is still in beta testing now with an official launch slated for July. The client-side software application for iOS and Samsung Android devices will also be rolling out that month.

However, the ClearPass Access Management System is available now.