The new Office apps for iPad were perhaps the highlight of Microsoft's San Francisco announcement today, but as part of the company's ostensibly contradictory "mobile first, cloud first" vision, CEO Satya Nadella announced the release of the Enterprise Mobility Suite.
Nadella justifies the vision by arguing that mobile devices and cloud services grew up in tandem: it's the consumption of cloud services that gives mobile devices much of their power, and it's mobile front-ends that stimulated the development of many cloud services. Cloud services are an integral part of Microsoft's mobile plans.
Managing mobile devices and enabling Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) scenarios in a way that's both convenient (for users and administrators alike) and effective, remains a challenge. Microsoft's response to this challenge is Enterprise Mobility Suite (EMS).
EMS brings together three main services: identity and access management driven by a new Azure Active Directory Premium, mobile device management with Windows Intune, and data management with Azure Active Directory Rights Management Services.
Azure Active Directory (AAD) provides user accounts and single sign-on across Office 365, Dynamics CRM, Windows Intune, and a range of third-party services such as Box and Salesforce.com. AAD Premium extends those features to include multifactor authentication, self-service password resets, and reporting, such as showing sign-ins from accounts that may be compromised. AAD Premium is currently in beta and will reach general availability next month.
Windows Intune is Microsoft's existing cloud-based desktop and mobile device management software. Earlier this year, Microsoft added a number of iOS capabilities such as remote locking, selective wipe, and e-mail profile management. In April, Android support will be enhanced, including support for Samsung's new Knox security platform. A forthcoming update to Windows Phone will also improve its manageability.
Azure Rights Management lets organizations validate access rights to documents, even when those documents are stored on BYOD computers.
There are all sorts of licensing and subscription schemes for these various component parts. In EMS, this will all be streamlined, with per-user licensing to get all three features. Importantly, this move means that users can access any number of devices without any kind of per-device billing. EMS will be available to volume license customers from May 1st. It will be discussed in more detail at TechEd in mid-May.
16 Reader Comments
Really.
Huh? Other than an incredibly efficient search engine, what has Google done that Microsoft hasn't?
Google has managed to squeeze billions from its search engine. If my memory serves me right, more than 90% of their profits come from ads. Well done. Other than that, Google hasn't done anything particularly brilliant in 10 years. I'm going to get a lot of flak from the Android crowd but I'll say it: Android is a photocopy of the iPhone.
Google is doing what it can to commoditize everything Apple and Microsoft do. Even that is old stuff. Microsoft already did it 20 years ago to IBM and Digital.
So who's catching up with whom?
Do you really think anyone cares enough about mobile device management software? Save the popcorn for the office on ipad discussion.
Huh? Other than an incredibly efficient search engine, what has Google done that Microsoft hasn't?
An office suite that works on an iPad.
Where Microsoft can leverage its strengths is Enterprise Management. How many iPads does my company have, where are they, what is installed on them? Are the compliant with our security standards? Neither Apple nor Google are strong in that realm. Nor Mozilla.
Do you really think anyone cares enough about mobile device management software? Save the popcorn for the office on ipad discussion.
Yes. I know a few people that care so deeply about mobile device management that they hide in corners, waiting to pounce at the opportunity to debate the advantages of not only different MDM software but also why device brand X makes a better managed fleet device.
Not necessarily a popcorn-worthy affair.
Well, you know how Windows 8 has anime mascots in Japan. So there's always a chance the Japanese version of EMS has something related to giant robots.
And iOS is a photocopy of Windows CE, and Windows CE is a photocopy of Palm OS, etc etc. Oh no, user interface designs that work on touchscreens are likely to be used in touchscreen user interfaces!
And iOS is a photocopy of Windows CE, and Windows CE is a photocopy of Palm OS, etc etc. Oh no, user interface designs that work on touchscreens are likely to be used in touchscreen user interfaces!
OOoooh obscure 6.5 year old pop culture meets bureaucracy reference. Props.
http://www.gearfuse.com/the-japanese-ag ... of-gundam/
Your understanding is wrong. It manages everything.
Well, from the article above:
Sounds like it is already working with iOS and Android at least, and is adding new features.
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