Endpoint February 21, 2016
By Christopher Hockings 2 min read

Engaging with any IT vendor around mobile security will invariably lead to the conclusion that there are many tools available. It’s at this time that some simple qualification can determine whether the vendor has a solution that addresses your enterprise requirements.

Mobile solution proliferation is driven by that fact that humans want to engage with systems through devices of their choice. The personas they take on within an enterprise, as well as the devices they use in that environment, impact the ideal solution. Humans, after all, are employees, contractors and customers, and the value of the data to which these personas have access varies greatly. So it’s not a one-size-fits-all proposition.

Mobile Security Solutions

Within the mobile security domain, there are solutions for application scanning and protection, access management technologies, fraud protection, mobile device management and others. It’s when these technologies are used together that they address two key areas of mobile security solutions.

1. Enterprise Mobility

With solutions such as IBM Security’s MaaS360 and VMWare’s Airwatch solution, the objective is to keep enterprise data safe. Gartner named this realm enterprise mobility management.

There are adjacencies to this technology, such as identity and access management and hybrid development platforms, that support the same objective. However, they are designed mainly for providing a safe environment for employees to access mobile enterprise services.

2. Consumer Mobility

Solutions that securely enable consumers to access available services aim to delight customers with a user experience consistent with their device of choice. Solutions that support such an objective include access management and API management technologies, as well as traditionally native development tools with pluggable software development kits. Banks delivering solutions to their customers, for example, will also be interested in providing integrated fraud protection solutions.

In an era where having a proliferation of tools provides more opportunities for adversaries to exploit weaknesses, these simple considerations can set the course for selecting a set of technologies designed to address your requirements. Assessment of viable solution stacks should ensure a clear set of use cases are documented so that your vendor proposes the correct set of technologies.

How to Learn More

Join me in a panel session at InterConnect 2016 titled “Customer Experience Panel on Access Management for Enterprise Mobility.” There, I will host IBM Security customers who will share their experiences with this range of technologies. I hope to demystify the mobile security domain so attendees can chart a clear course for their enterprise requirements.

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Christopher Hockings
IBM Master Inventor

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