[1]Firmware-embedded endpoint security and management solutions provider Absolute®Software Corporation [1] has announced the general availability of Absolute Manage 6.0 [2], a product which offers the only single, unified console that natively enables IT administrators to efficiently manage all of their Mac, PC, Android and iOS devices by automating time-consuming IT processes such as software distribution, patch management, and asset inventory.
Absolute Manage also helps organizations save money by allowing them to track installed applications and licenses, redeploy under-used licenses and hardware to maximize inventory utilization and avoid non-compliance fines, and implement power management policies to reduce energy consumption. For Android and iOS devices, customers can manage apps, collect asset inventory and security data, perform configuration management tasks, and rapidly respond to security incidents.
“Our customers are facing increasing challenges in managing and securing the growing number of employee-owned devices making their way onto corporate networks. With the release of Absolute Manage 6.0, our customers can apply the highest standard of endpoint management and security across a variety of form factors and operating systems,” said Peter Frankl, Vice President, Lifecycle Management at Absolute. “In addition, our customers are excited about AbsoluteSafe as it is an industry breakthrough technology delivering unparalleled control to securely manage company data residing on iOS devices within their deployment.”
“We have already begun to see a rapid increase in mobile device management activity in our business, which we believe provides an excellent opportunity to accelerate our business growth supporting PC’s and Mac’s too,” stated John Livingston, Chief Executive Officer at Absolute. “Last fiscal year, sales of our mobile solutions nearly doubled primarily due to this increased activity. We believe the launching of industry first features, such as AbsoluteSafe, and offering our customers a unified, cross-platform console will help further accelerate our expansion into the systems lifecycle and mobile device management markets.”
The release of Absolute Manage 6.0, which uniquely embeds mobile device management capabilities into the robustness of a systems lifecycle management solution, includes:
- AbsoluteSafe: IT administrators can securely distribute sensitive or confidential files to iOS devices including security options to block the file from being copied or emailed, as well as password protect files. Even the screen capture functionality can be turned off for the tightest document/media security available on the market today. AbsoluteSafe provides a solution for IT that removes the need for end users to use tools like DropBox and email to access company liable information on their iOS tablets and smartphones, and returns control of that data to the company – a must-have to enable organizations to embrace and fully leverage the consumerization and BYOD movement.
- Scheduled Policies: Configuration profiles and media files can be assigned time-limited access. Now IT administrators can shut down access to corporate networks at a pre-defined time, or limit the availability of a document on a device for the duration of a meeting. Once the meeting time ends, the document is automatically removed from the device.
- Policy-Locked Configuration Profiles: IT administrators can create corporate smart policies to provide devices with access to company email and networks. Absolute Manage 6.0 provides them with the capability to attach conditions to these policies so that non-compliant devices (jailbroken, containing blacklisted apps, etc.) will immediately lose access to company resources.
- Management for Android Devices: Along with PCs, Macs, and iOS devices, IT administrators can now manage Android devices within their deployment, all from the same console.