With the growing trend of businesses permitting employees to use company-owned handsets for personal work or vice-versa, the need for organizations to secure confidential data has risen. RIM has officially announced the launch of BlackBerry Balance, a new technology that enables users to separate work and personal data on single BlackBerry device.
The latest technology makes it easier to employ BlackBerry smartphones for personal use in addition to office needs, while still keeping company information secure and personal content private. It is claimed that the division between work and personal profiles is invisible to the end users unless they try to perform a function proscribed by company policy.
“BlackBerry Balance is a win-win for employers and employees. It’s a secure and cost-effective way for companies to keep employees connected and productive, while also allowing the flexibility for employees to carry a single phone,” explained Jim Tobin, senior vice president, software and services at Research In Motion.
IT administrators can seamlessly manage policies through BlackBerry Enterprise Server or BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express. These policies ensure secure access to business information and to make sure that no information can be copied to apps like Facebook, Twitter, Windows Live, Yahoo! Mail or Google Mail.
Confidential business data or files won’t be used in personal mobile apps. In case users try to do something against the IT policy, they will be notified that the action is not allowed. If employees leave the company or loss their handset then all business information can be wiped from it remotely, leaving just personal information.
BlackBerry Balance is built into BlackBerry Enterprise Server version 5.0.3 or later, and BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express 5.0.3 for Microsoft Exchange or IBM Lotus Domino. It requires the latest version of the BlackBerry 6.0 Device Software.