Good Technology boosts iPhone security controls

Good for Enterprise works on iPhones, iPods, and iPads.

(Credit: Good Technology)

When an employee at AIM Media lost his iPhone containing company e-mails and other sensitive data last year, there was nothing to be done except hope that whoever found it didn't care to snoop.

Now, if that happens again AIM Media IT Director Nelson Saenz can just remotely wipe the data.

"Apple made it possible for the iPhone to work with Microsoft Exchange," he said. "But from an IT standpoint what was missing was centralized administration and security."

Since January, AIM Media has been using Good for Enterprise, software and service from Good Technology that lets companies manage and secure smart phones that employees are increasingly using for work and play. For many employees, it means they don't have to carry two phones, such as the work-sanctioned BlackBerry and their beloved iPhone, because the corporate data on the device can be protected.

And as of Monday, companies that are paying the subscription fees for employees' iPhones will be able to remotely wipe the entire device and not just the work-related e-mails, calendar, contacts, and other data.

Good Technology is releasing iPhone Management so that companies, government agencies, and other organizations that may have more stringent compliance and other regulatory restrictions can have more control over the iPhones, iPads, and iPods their workers use.

This could free up doctors and others who work in HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)-governed areas to be able to use iPhones for work, said John Herrema, chief marketing officer at Good Technology.

"We're giving the IT department a finer level of control so if you are coming from a regulated industry you can manage that subset (of iPhone users) in a more controlled way," he said.