HP Launches Cloud-Based MDM Services

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Hewlett-Packard’s (HP) cloud services portfolio keeps growing.

Sensing an opportunity in helping businesses manage the crush of smartphones and tablets that have invaded their corridors, the IT vendor has launched a new cloud-based mobile device management offering.

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The service, called HP Enterprise Cloud Services – Mobility, blends mobile device management and security capabilities with application access and cloud storage functionality. The intent, claims HP Enterprise Services senior vice president Pete Karolczak, is to help IT managers finally establish boundaries on employee-owned mobile devices and exert control over the corporate data that they access.

“Mobility in the workplace continues to be a key focus and concern for IT executives. HP Enterprise Cloud Services – Mobility leverages HP’s strong cloud portfolio by providing clients with a mobility service that provides the highest level of user experience and productivity while minimizing risk for IT,” said Karolczak in a company statement.

By bundling so many features, HP is hoping to establish itself as a one-stop shop for managing mobile devices, applications and online file storage and sharing.

HP Enterprise Cloud Services – Mobility is comprised of two major components. First is Management Essentials, which is offers mobile device management (MDM) and mobile application management (MAM) features. Policies can be based on user roles, groups or device ownership, claims HP.

Management Essentials offers the ability to impose data access and security policies or establish employer-approved enterprise app stores. Management Essentials is powered by Citrix XenMobile MDM Edition and SAP Afaria, which are consistently updated and maintained by HP’s cloud services team.

On the storage front, HP offers Cloud File Management, which allows customers to offer their workers secure, cloud-based file and sync services with the added benefit of offline file access. IT shops with tight security and/or performance requirements can take a hybrid approach by using the Local Storage to store data in HP’s secure data centers and on-premise.

The service leverages the highly available data center infrastructure of HP’s Enterprise Cloud Services – Virtual Private product, which speeds deployment and eases the IT management burdens of in-house admins by providing comprehensive network security and configurable storage, says the company.

It’s also lighter on the IT budget. Apart from the inherent cost savings of subscribing to a cloud service instead of on-premise setups, HP argues that it bundles several, otherwise disparate solutions into one predictable monthly subscription with per-user pricing.

HP Mobility is available now. The service supports smartphones and tablets that run iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Windows Mobile and Windows 8 RT.

Pedro Hernandez is a contributing editor at InternetNews.com, the news service of the IT Business Edge Network, the network for technology professionals. Follow him on Twitter @ecoINSITE.