From the ‘I didn’t see this coming’ files.
RIM, makers of the iconic BlackBerry handset, are coming out with device management software for the iPhone, iPad and Android.
The new Mobile Fusion device management software will be released during Q1 in 2012 and will allow corporate IT to set up and control the use of passwords and apps on a range of devices, including the iPhone, iPad and Android devices. There’s no support planned as yet for Windows Phone, but it could be added if there is demand.
“What our enterprise customers are looking for, and the opportunity for us, is to become the de facto platform,” RIM’s vice-president for enterprise product management, Alan Panezic, told Reuters in an interview ahead of the announcement.
“We will take full advantage of whatever security capabilities are provided by the core operating system. We’re not going to hold that back in any way, shape or form.”
Mobile Fusion will work alongside BlackBerry Enterprise Servers (BES). It makes sense for BlackBerry to capitalize on the success of other platforms, especially given its lack of success in breaking into the tablet market.
No pricing details have been released but RIM says it will be ”competitive.”
Maybe Apple can now come out with a native email client for RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook.
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