HTC knows Android like the back of its metaphorical hand, and IBM is downright synonymous with enterprise computing. The two companies are joining forces to combine their relative prowess and speed Android adoption among the enterprise set, reports eWeek. The partnership will come in the form of business-centric software from IBM bundled on HTC’s upcoming phones, as Big Blue announced at its Lotusphere conference in Orlando.

IBM’s suite of smart business solutions will be made available on future HTC phones and tablets, though the Taiwanese company will not have an exclusive license to them. The apps were not shown outside the conference. Even so, enterprise-level security and integration out of the box is a major selling point – there are many who might argue that it’s the only thing keeping BlackBerry in business at the moment. And thanks to a year’s head start and considerable work on the part of Apple, iOS is well ahead of Android in enterprise adoption.

HTC isn’t the only one looking to business customers. Most high-end Android phones come with at least some kind of encryption option, but LG takes it one step further by integrating VMWare’s virtualization software on some handsets, allowing a true separation between work and personal usage on the same phone. While everyone would like a piece of the enterprise pie, this is the best solution we’ve seen yet to the security and stability issues that “bring your own device” present. As Android saturates the consumer market, it will be interesting to see how the various manufacturers and developers try to make in-roads in business.

3 COMMENTS

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.