While Microsoft officials seem intent on playing up all consumer focused news all the time with Windows Phone, business users aren’t completely outside the Redmondians’ radar. The proof? Microsoft has cemented a deal with Good Technology to bring encrypted email to Windows Phones.
Microsoft and Good announced on February 27 a “strategic application partnership to enable the use of the Good for Enterprise solution on Windows Phone devices,” according to a Microsoft press release. Good’s technology will provide FIPS-certified 192-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) level encryption for Windows Phones.
The Good for Enterprise offering will be commercially available for Windows Phones starting early in the second quarter of 2012 and will be available as an app downloadable from the Windows Phone Marketplace.
Good Technology already offers similar solutions for iPads, iPhones and Android phones. Good claims that half the Fortune 100 companies are among its enterprise customers.
Windows Phones running Mango, the current operating system release, already do include support for a number of features of potential interest to business users, such as information-rights management support for documents and email and Office 365 synchronization. But to date, Microsoft officials have opted to focus public attention almost entirely on consumer features and functionality — the opposite tack that Microsoft pursued with Windows Phone’s predecessor, a k a Windows Mobile.
I’ve heard Microsoft is working on a plan to seed Windows Phones among CXOs, providing select employees at 50 or so companies with loaner phones and “white glove” service in an attempt to win them over to Windows Phone. I’d think it’s high time for Microsoft to work on recapturing the corporate Windows Mobile users it has lost — plus other brand-new business users– if it hopes to grow its Windows Phone base in a substantial way….
