BlackBerry is partnering with Samsung to make Android security more robust, using its own Knox solution for Galaxy devices, as well as BES12, BlackBerry’s enterprise device management and enterprise mobility solution. The partnership is significant on both sides, and gives Samsung and BlackBerry a way to dig in and protect market position as Apple and IBM move to own greater share of the enterprise segment.
The partnership will allow enterprise customers to opt for deployments of Samsung Knox-capable devices that will let BlackBerry’s enterprise server software control and manage their corporate data buckets, and provide a total firewall between personal and private data. It would also offer up improved core security for Samsung mobile devices, and will see Samsung help sell BES12 to its stable of customers, as well as see BlackBerry add Knox to its list of product offerings.
This is a smart deal for all involved, and very similar to the arrangement that Apple and IBM have struck, albeit with the possible advantage of not requiring that either side of the equation extend themselves with expensive new product or feature development efforts. The whole point of BES12 for BlackBerry is essentially adding cross-platform device support to its list of strengths, after all, but an official team-up with Samsung will extend its potential to bring on new customers.
Pricing and a specific launch window are yet to come, but we’ll provide more details as they become available.