DIGICEL Business says it has partnered with a second mobile device management (MDM) provider as part of its thrust into the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) market.

According to Digicel, the ICT solutions provider, named AirWatch, will use the partnership to further leverage its parent’s position in the mobile phone market.

Digicel already has enterprise mobility management solution provider, Citrix, on board.

“Management of mobile devices has become essential to businesses as cellphones become smarter, and increasing numbers of organisations allow employees to use mobile devices to access confidential work information,” Digicel Business said in a news release.

“BYOD is changing the dynamic of the adaptive workspace and employees are now able to access their productive tools at anytime from anywhere,” the news release quotes Ative Ennis, Digicel Business’s head of enterprise solutions. “The sensitive information that is sent to and from these devices can create vulnerability points on a company’s network. This has made it more critical for companies to protect data.”

Mobile device management allows companies to wipe data from a device if it is lost or stolen, restore devices to their original state if they are recovered, and push updates and firmware patches to devices remotely.

“With an MDM solution like AirWatch, you can track devices using GPS and manage content on the devices,” Iris Garcia, AirWatch’s territory account manager, told guests at a breakfast seminar held at Digicel Headquarters in downtown Kingston on November 19.

Importantly, MDM ensures that devices connected to corporate networks comply with the security policies of companies once the mobile devices are enrolled on those networks.

“Digicel Business and AirWatch will help organisations successfully implement their bring-your-own-device strategy, keeping corporate assets safe and increasing employee satisfaction and productivity,” said Ennis.

AirWatch is a global leader in mobile security, device, application and content management across multiple platforms, providing mobility solutions to over 500,000 global customers.