MobileIron Adds Splunk, Tunneling To Mobile Management Platform

MobileIron is integrating Splunk into its mobile device management platform in a move that adds a variety of new capabilities for IT teams attempting to get control of corporate data on end-user mobile devices.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based mobile security provider said the new support for Splunk will help IT teams in tracking threats and identifying other weaknesses. It enables advanced data-logging capabilities for users of the search and analysis engine.

"Splunk is certainly going to make the platform more compelling," said Jay Gordon, vice president of sales at Enterprise Mobile, a MobileIron partner based in Plano, Texas. "It offers more enhanced support around threat detection, so it betters the platform for even some of the core features that MobileIron has independently."

[Related: Sources: Microsoft Mulled AirWatch Buy To Bolster Mobile Device Management Portfolio ]

The mobile device management market is rapidly changing, according to industry analysts, with MDM vendors quickly adding capabilities to lock down applications and isolate corporate data. In addition to MobileIron, AirWatch, Citrix, SAP and Good Technology are some of the top vendors with market penetration, according to research firm Gartner. IBM, which sees growing interest in mobile security, acquired Fiberlink, a maker of a popular SaaS-based MDM platform, in November.

The mobile IT company also unveiled a feature called Help@Work, which is an app for the Apple iOS platform that allows device owners in an enterprise environment to have their screens linked with their IT support staff in order for quicker and more efficient troubleshooting. The innovative feature is an industry first as it is new to iOS devices.

"Help@work is going to be huge. It's the next step in the equation of MDM," Gordon said. "You'll speed the resolution of the issue and significantly reduce the number of devices needing to be replaced because you can resolve the issue over the air. It's a really neat feature."

Another new MobileIron feature called "Tunnel" allows approved apps to move behind corporate firewalls while unapproved apps are blocked out. This end-to-end feature allows for secure IT operations with the iOS.

"The Tunneling capability by MobileIron is unique in the MDM space and important for the enterprise," Gordon said. "This specific capability extends application access via VPN without having to wrap the app. That's a huge improvement because we don't have any customers today that say they don’t have to wrap the app before it's deployed."

Sean Convery, vice president of product management at MobileIron, spoke of the company's new mobile security innovations prior to the event announcement. "We are just at the early stages of what this technology is going to be able to do," Convery told CRN. "It's an incredibly exciting space. I think you're going to continue to see the productivity of the mobile device improve as users and IT get more and more comfortable with the technology."

PUBLISHED APRIL 29, 2014