Google And Partners Offer Pre-Configured Android Devices With Zero-Touch Enrollment

Google's looking to make it easier and safer for enterprises to get new Android devices into the hands of employees with Thursday's introduction of an automated device enrollment option.

The new deployment method, called zero-touch enrollment, allows phones and tablets running Google's mobile operating system to be shipped with pre-configured settings, so they're ready to go into action almost immediately upon delivery.

The method automates device configuration, setting appropriate corporate policies without any manual process.

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James Nugent, Google's product manager, said users of those devices can just sign-in and immediately access their employer-sanctioned apps and data.

"No matter the use case, we know that a successful deployment is about more than just selecting the right devices; it's about getting them configured and rolled out into the hands of users as quickly and easily as possible," Nugent said.

Zero-touch enrollment will be available on phones and tablets purchased in the United States from Verizon or Sprint, and around the world from several other carriers.

Verizon is first introducing the service on Google's Pixel phone, according to Nugent's blog.

Google's also partnered with many device manufacturers, including Samsung, Huawei, Sony and LG to deliver the new enrollment capability to enterprise customers.

Zero-touch enrollment is also integrated with many enterprise mobility management solutions, including VMware AirWatch, BlackBerry, MobileIron, IBM, SOTI and Google's own G Suite. Those platforms can be used to specify configurations and policies that will be automatically applied to devices when they're first fired up.