BARCELONA – Samsung is teaming up with MobileIron to challenge BlackBerry’s hold on the enterprise market with the launch of Knox, which it claims is the “most advanced Android solution for the enterprise,” for both mobile IT and end users. It announced at the Mobile World Congress that Knox will be commercially available in selected Samsung Galaxy devices from Q2 2013 onwards.
Knox employs a so-called "container" system that separates personal and corporate data, and can also be used to secure apps, similar to BlackBerry’s Balance technology. It includes AES 256-bit encryption and integrity management services implemented in both hardware and the Android framework.
"User adoption of Samsung mobile devices is exploding around the world and, with the Knox, we are establishing a new standard for mobile security in the enterprise," said Jae Shin , Vice President, B2B Business Group at Samsung Electronics. "Our partnership with MobileIron enables organizations around the world to confidently welcome Samsung devices into even the most highly security-conscious environments. With the Knox and MobileIron, we deliver the security that the IT department requires without compromising the experience end users love."
Knox is aligned with the Samsung For Enterprise (SAFE) programme, an ongoing effort initiated by the company to promote the readiness of its devices for enterprise use.
“Samsung Knox is a major step forward in establishing Android as a core computing platform for business, and we are pleased to be part of the Knox ecosystem," said Bob Tinker , CEO, MobileIron. "What distinguishes Knox is Samsung's commitment to meeting and exceeding the security needs of the most exacting enterprise and government organizations. Our customers are very excited to trial and deploy the Knox."
At the application layer, Knox offers a container solution that separates business and personal use of a mobile device. This separation is enforced by SE Android and file system level encryption, offering protection of business data and applications from data leakage, viruses and malware attacks. Knox is compatible with existing common enterprise infrastructure such as MDM, VPN and directory services.
Accessible via an icon on the home screen, the Knox container presents to users a variety of enterprise applications in a secure environment including email, browser, contacts, calendars, file sharing, collaboration, CRM and business intelligence applications. It enables existing Android eco-system applications to automatically gain enterprise integration and validated, robust security with zero change to the application source code. Samsung says Knox also relieves application developers from having to develop individual enterprise features such as FIPS compliant VPN, on-device encryption, Enterprise Single Sign On (SSO), Active Directory support and Smart Card based multi-factor authentication.
“Security and privacy are understandably held up as barriers to businesses embracing BYOD demands. Meanwhile, users are seeing the latest smartphones and tablets and knocking at the door of IT demanding to be able to use their own devices,” adds Shin.
“The solution is clear – combine the business and personal in a single device. Samsung Knox achieves this harmony between enterprise control and employee satisfaction by delivering fundamental security at the platform level, while leaving the user experience consistent.”
