The company VMware, a leader in the virtual machine segment, has introduced new technologies allowing employees to use personal mobile devices for work. At the same time, the applications on these phones that are related to work will be controlled by means of a number of novel security settings. One example of one such state of the art device is Horizon Mobile, which the company introduced last week. This device can operate a virtual machine of a work Smartphone that is inside your personal phone. Other devices, thanks to which you can benefit from a work phone inside your personal one, include applications that can deliver a virtual desktop image to your desktop computer at work and applications that can deliver other work-related graphics and designs to your Smartphone or tablet.
Compatible platforms
At the present time, these applications are designed for Google’s Android mobile operating system on Samsung and LG phones. No other phone brands and platforms are compatible for the time being, but that will soon change. The scope of these new applications will come to cover other Android phones and tablets, as well as the operating systems Apple iOS, RIM BlackBerry, and Microsoft Windows Phone 7.
Benefits of a work phone within a personal phone
The work phone within the personal phone is a VM (virtual machine) that is fully safe and secure, completely encrypted and managed. It offers applications such as Microsoft Exchange, Calendar, SharePoint, and all others that people typically need for work, regardless of what you do. People working in customer services or any kind of business management would benefit especially from the work phone within the personal phone. Generally your personal phone remains as simply a host for the work machine. Applications like Facebook, games, music, contacts, and more are kept separate.
Possible problems
This is one of the problems you might have with the virtual machine inside the phone. It is a bit hard to keep work and personal phones and addresses separate. This is because a lot of workers are starting to bring their tablets or Smartphones to work. On one hand, users demand a degree of freedom. On the other, there is the issue of striking a balance between personal freedom and security on the job. A satisfactory level of control is absolutely mandatory in a work environment, and it is impossible to compromise with that. This is not likely to pose that big a problem because VM are developing and improving more and more over time. The VM inside the phone does ensure a level of control and security. What is more, the device can be deleted from the personal phone if the person quits or is fired or laid off, in which case their personal information, data and applications are not affected.
Finally, there are the issues of processing speed, power management, memory, and such. It is normal that concerns over these should arise, given that a phone within a phone is likely to operate at a slower rate than one phone on its own. Experts estimate that the resulting deficits will not exceed 10% of the optimal rate. Where power management is concerned, the deficit will be as little as 1%, if that.
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Originally posted on September 8, 2011 @ 7:16 am