iOS 8: Is Your Company’s Data Secure?

If you are an iPhone user – you’re probably familiar with iOS 8. Apple’s latest release of their mobile operating system saw a quite a bit more news this year, as a number of iPhone 6 users saw their service disconnected with Apple’s release of 8.0.1. Apple quickly released a patch for those users affected, and the most recent version, iOS 8.1 has enabled a number of the blockbuster features Apple advertised. The most notable of those features is Apple Pay. While iOS 8 offers a number a consumer-oriented improvements, Apple continues to give more attention to the enterprise in their yearly OS updates. After all, Blackberry is no longer the most used device in enterprise, overtaken by iPhone in the past few years. So what exactly does iOS 8 mean for your corporate wireless fleet? Let’s go over a few of the enterprise-oriented improvements in iOS 8.

Security

Apple added a number of features in iOS 8 to improve data security. The first of these wireless security features is the addition of S/MIME encryption in Mail. S/MIME adds an extra layer of security encryption, and can be added to individual messages in iOS 8. This way you can determine which messages need the extra protection, and which ones can go without. One of the blockbuster features of iOS is Apple Pay, a digital wallet solution that utilizes NFC and the TouchID sensor on iPhone 5S and iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Not only is the transaction secured with your fingerprint, your card number is never shared with the merchant. Instead, a unique account number is created, and a security pin created on the spot. If paired with your employees’ corporate cards, you can add an extra layer of protection against fraud at the point of sale, where supported.

TouchID can also now be utilized by third-party app developers to authenticate logins. Imagine your enterprise application secured by the employee’s fingerprint, rather than a password that can be compromised by unsavory individuals. Better yet, your employees will never forget their fingerprint – unlike passwords which can be easily confused.

MDM

Apple’s iOS 8 continues to make strides towards greater cooperation with Mobile Device Management solutions. Apple now allows MDM platforms to designate specific applications as ‘managed’. Administrators can then allow or deny sharing of data with other applications, restrict access altogether, track usage, and even remotely load company content, such as PDFs or EBooks. The effects of these administrator access improvements will streamline all areas of your business processes.

TEM Implications

But what sort of impact does iOS 8 have on your corporate wireless management? More specifically, can it help your efforts in expense management? Managed apps provide the opportunity to lock down usage-hogging applications like Netflix or Spotify unless on WiFi, thereby ensuring that your employees’ corporate device stays a corporate device. Acting on these new features curbs data usage, and will save valuable dollars on your wireless billing. Soft dollar savings can also be found in increased productivity – reclaimed from lost time on non-work activities.

How can mindWireless help?

mindWireless helps businesses like yours make the hard decisions in corporate wireless. With more than a decade of experience in telecom expense management, wireless procurement – you won’t find another wireless-centered expense management firm with more tools to help you maximize your corporate mobility strategy. While our unique approach to billing optimization often takes center stage, we also offer a complete branded wireless help desk solution, staffed with mobility futurists who know the ins and outs of today’s wireless climate.

Are you unsure that your business is getting the most out of its mobility? Let’s talk about how we can help. Click here to get a Free Rate Plan Analysis, and hear how we can help improve both operational and financial efficiency.