Mocana extends mobile app security offering to iOS

10.04.2012
More iOS devices arriving in the workplace mean more potential security headaches for the enterprise. Smart device security firm is looking to reduce some of those headaches by adding iOS support to its Mobile App Protection offering.

Released for Android last fall, Mobile App Protection, or MAP, places a security layer over mobile apps, keeping sensitive data safe without otherwise impacting the app's performance. On Tuesday, Mocana rolled out MAP 2.0, extending its protective features to iOS apps.

According to Mocana, MAP 2.0 essentially "wraps" layers of security around mobile apps, adding security features that weren't there before. There's no need to write any code, and IT administrators don't need access to the app's source code. It's a point-and-click process that takes a few seconds per app to implement.

"We believe with this product, we're moving the industry forward to the next phase [of security]--automation and fine-grain per-app control," Mocana CEO Adrian Turner told .

There's certainly a demand for more secure mobile devices in the enterprise, especially as more companies embrace the concept of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), in which employees use their personal smartphones, tablets, and digital devices on the job. Apple routinely touts the number of major corporations using the iPad or iPhone in the workplace--in Apple's , chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer said that iPhones and iPads are in use at nearly all of the top Fortune 500 companies. Just this week, IBM's chief information officer .

The iOS platform is driving much of the corporate world's BYOD efforts, which is what spurred Mocana to add iOS support in version 2.0 of its offering. "What the market has really wanted is cross-platform support," Turner said. "There are a few Android-only shops, but they're the minority."