Bring Your Phone to Work Day: Managing Android Devices With Google Apps
Thursday, October 28, 2010 | 9:12 AM
(Cross-posted and excerpted from the Official Google Enterprise Blog)
With over 200,000 devices activated each day, Android is seeing rapid adoption, and today we are launching new administrative controls that make it possible to securely manage these devices in the Google Apps environment. With this launch, Google Apps provides a comprehensive mobility solution for all major mobile platforms. You can manage most mobile devices right from the browser, without having to deploy dedicated servers.
Many Android devices feature tight integration with Google Apps, including native applications for Gmail, Google Talk, and Google Calendar, as well as mobile access to Google Docs. Now any employee with an Android device running version 2.2 - personal or company-issued - can access their corporate information while allowing administrators to enforce data security policies such as:
- Remotely wipe all data from lost or stolen mobile devices
- Lock idle devices after a period of inactivity
- Require a device password on each phone
- Set minimum lengths for more secure passwords
- Require passwords to include letters and numbers
These policies can be enforced on devices that have installed the Google Apps Device Policy application, which will be available from Android Market in the next few days. They will be available free to all Google Apps Premier and Education Edition customers in the next few days, and can be accessed from the 'Mobile' tab under 'Service Settings' in the Google Apps control panel.
To learn more about these updates in mobile device management for Google Apps, join us for a live webcast with Mayur Kamat, Google Apps Product Manager, on November 10, 2010 at 9 a.m. PDT / 12 p.m. EDT / 6 p.m. GMT. Register now
Labels: android, Google Apps, google apps device policy, Mobile Blog
11 comments:
Todd said...
On the webpage the "join us for a live webcast" link goes to, 'Android' is spelled incorrectly. FYI
October 28, 2010 at 10:15 AM
Unknown said...
Does the remote wipe feature include wiping info on the SD card? I know my employer (Deloitte Tax LLP) continues to hold out on supporting Android phones because they insist on the capability of wiping not just the device itself but the SD card.
October 28, 2010 at 10:22 AM
osman said...
Why wipe Sd card? Wiping data has nothing with real security. Deleted files from SD can be restored. There is only one way to secure mobile devices; do not store data on it (use mobile apps with online access secure server) or store it on encrypted file system (so it cant be read without a key).
Feature to wipe data from phone should be replaced with support for encrypted file system.
October 28, 2010 at 1:30 PM
Unknown said...
Hey, it's not my idea. I just want an Android phone already but those are the concerns that the IT department where I work expressed to us.
I'm in a very data-sensitive industry. I think enterprise solutions for security have to appeal to the lowest common denominator rather than telling every person a large employer issues a phone to not to store data on their phones.
October 28, 2010 at 1:50 PM
Anonymous said...
@Paul - thanks for the interest. I answered your question on the enterprise blog but posting the reply here as well. Android currently does not support wiping the SD card, only local storage.
Mayur Kamat
Product Manager - Google Apps
October 28, 2010 at 3:01 PM
Jason said...
@Mayur: Is support for GApps Device Policy on Standard Edition accounts in the cards? I was slightly disappointed to see the two-factor auth feature excluded from SE and this is another blow. Security shouldn't be a value add. Please bring these tools to Std Ed users too!
October 29, 2010 at 2:02 AM
Peter Pugliese said...
It would be really nice for the Google Apps Standard edition to at least get the ability to remotely lock & wipe a lost phone. Would be a big plus for Android.
October 29, 2010 at 10:50 AM
Alex Truck said...
In 2 weeks I'll switch from AT&T and iPhone to Verizon and Droid, and I will make sure to bring my phone to work,and show it around :)
October 29, 2010 at 12:15 PM
Jason said...
I would really like the "remote wipe" feature from my standard Google account (which is not an Apps account). I would also like to use the Google Authenticator with my standard Google account. Why are these cool features only available to people running Google Apps? I don't want to change to a Google Apps account because I already have so much set up with my standard Google account.
October 29, 2010 at 1:42 PM
Unknown said...
I read your blog very impressed seen this kind of important information’s. Really am interested to back to your blog again to gather some more information’s
google android developer
November 2, 2010 at 11:24 PM
Xikoota said...
No, I can't take my phone to work because this phone does not support native CISCO VPN which is the standard at our company (and many MANY others). Also there is no solution for proxy server usage, either). Android is NOT made for work. Period.
November 9, 2010 at 12:18 AM
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