Android for business: enterprise focus or not?

Servicing the enterprise market has always been RIM’s focus with BlackBerry, but for consumer-focused Apple it’s been a low priority while Google has been working hard to make Android a jack-of-all-trades but has yet to articulate a clear enterprise focus.

Indeed, it is only with the release of Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) and the recent-ish 2.2 (Froyo) that the operating system has gotten business-class asset and data management features like remote data wiping, data encryption, remote password reset, and device tracking.

While these features might convince some IT managers that Android is up to par with iOS in the enterprise space, there are still many question marks around its enterprise credentials. The free-for-all Android Market, for example, is likely to pose too significant a security risk for many companies' comfort; as if confirming this, RIM will reportedly be vetting every Android application it allows PlayBook users to load and run using that device's Android runtime support. This suggests that Apple's model, however questionable and onerous, is more appropriate for enterprise-class devices.

"It's possible Android will be a little more appealing to enterprises just because of their openness, and the fact that it will be easier for enterprises to install their own apps on Android devices," says Mark Novosel, telecommunications analyst with IDC.

"But on the other hand, there could be more security issues as Google doesn't verify all the apps to the same extent that Apple does. This could be managed if companies have appropriate policies in terms of what staff can download to tablets."

But administering those policies is difficult: spot audits are impractical and third-party device management tools are only now integrating support for iPhones and iPads with existing platforms designed years ago to let businesses remotely configure and upgrade desktop and notebooks PCs. Comparable Android support is certainly in the works somewhere, but there's going to be an inherent lag between when it's offered and when businesses feel comfortable with the level of control they're offered.

That said, Android's openness does offer keen developers a unique opportunity to differentiate their offerings with innovative, targeted products. Openness made it a natural target for OzDroid’s Geoff Bruckner, who is developing an application for couriers and logistics operators that's based on Android.

Bruckner was a longtime developer for Windows Mobile, which has owned the business mobility space for most of the past decade, but "didn't like the direction it was taking," he explains. "I wanted a situation where I could use a ruggedised device, and it if gets smashed the driver could start using a regular consumer phone too. But there's no compatibility between Windows Phone 7 and handheld or embedded versions. I took a punt that Android was going to be successful and that I'd be able to leverage off other consumer devices, tablets, phones and so on in the future if need be."

Bruckner has spent the last 18 months designing and developing his as-yet-unnamed application, which is running on a version of Android 2.1 ported to Korean company Bluebird's Pidion BIP-6000 rugged handheld computer by US firm SDG Systems. The BIP-6000, which was designed for Windows Mobile 6.1, offers military-spec rugged design that makes it perfect for Bruckner's intended business audience – combining a hard-wearing mobile platform with the openness and broad support of Android. Barcode scanners, for example, can be added to the device as keyboard wedges, entering characters from scanned barcode as though they've been typed.

Although it's still early days, Bruckner says he's already fielded enquiries from businesses interested in his work and on having him develop business apps for their own use. "There are enterprises and small businesses looking to get connected with Android users," he says. "They're having the same issues I was looking at, since you don't have industrial options in iOS. What's really driving the mobile market at the moment is the success of Android."