Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone with a security-focused fingerprint scanner, Samsung announced that second-generation Knox software for enterprise-level security and management of Samsung devices will ship sometime in the second quarter.
Knox 2.0 gives IT shops cloud-based purchasing and control of all Samsung services and apps, and launches a single sign-on for end users of Samsung gear, three Samsung officials said in a briefing prior to the announcement on Tuesday at Mobile World Congress.
Also, a Samsung Knox Marketplace apps store will be available as part of Knox 2.0. It offers, initially, 150 enterprise-focused apps that IT shops can make available to end users. Samsung plans to include Office 365 and Google Docs in the store.
As with other mobile device management (MDM) software products, Knox 2.0 does not allow end users to add their own applications to the work-side partition of its dual personality interface. Samsung joins BlackBerry and other vendors offering the ability to separate apps, emails and other services into two profiles: work and personal.
According to a recent analysis of 250,000 Android users in businesses, Samsung devices were used by more than half. The analysis used real-time data gathered by Fiberlink Communications, a mobile management and security company purchased by IBM in December. Samsung also dominates all Android smartphone sales globally.
“Android is becoming more of a force in enterprises, and Knox elevates Samsung above the rest of the contenders,” said Jack Gold, an analyst at J. Gold Associates. “There are many vendors of security solutions for Android, so it remains to be seen just how much of an advantage Knox is.”
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