Channel partners and their enterprise customers will be able to take advantage of their legions of iPhone users through a new program AT&T launched this week that gives them a way to launch and control enterprise web applications for the popular Apple smartphone.
The carrier made the AT&T WorkBench for iPhone available yesterday on the App Store. The new tool gives enterprises–and channel partners who make the development magic happen for these customers–the power to extend existing enterprise application services to the iPhone through secure web applications hosted in a managed environment.
The solution gives channel partners the ability to satisfy customers and users who have been clamoring for iPhone usability within their custom application environment without compromising on security, particularly when dealing with mobile devices owned by individuals rather than the organization.
“We’re seeing increased interest and demand for iPhone applications from our business customers across industries and applications. In addition, more customers are requesting to use their personal iPhones in the workplace," said Ron Spears, president and CEO of AT&T Business Solutions, said in a statement. "With AT&T WorkBench, we’re able to bring an organization’s key enterprise applications, such as ERP or CRM software, to iPhone users with advanced control and security features that corporate IT requires – including authentication and encryption – to enable more secure collaboration and productivity for businesses.”
The new WorkBench tool will allow for role-based deployment of web applications and provide the means to embed certificate-based authentication using Simple Certificate Enrollment Protocol (SCEP) into the log-in process. Users will be able to take advantage of multiple WorkBench-created enterprise applications at once and toggle between them when necessary. WorkBench also offers IT controls such as policy management, mobile VPN, remote data lock and wipes, and over-the-air updates.
“Such a solution enhances key security and control measures, without sacrificing any of the strong user experiences,” Stephen Drake, program vice president for mobility and telecom research at IDC, said in a statement.