Almost lost in yesterday’s roll out of Apple Inc.’s new iPhone 5S and its low-priced sibling, iPhone 5C was the introduction of the company’s latest mobile operating system.
While the two phones launched amid much fanfare yesterday, the day after was a different story. Apple shares fell back six per cent on Wednesday after it dawned on people that the 5C was going to be more expensive than earlier expected and that the 5S’s features left much to be desired.
By contrast, the new iOS 7 appears to have many features that business users and IT departments will like.
While Apple is widely considered a consumer-focused device maker, the under-the-hood improvements found in iOS 7 includes some key elements indicating that it is squarely aimed at enterprise users.
Here are six reasons why enterprise organizations should consider the new mobile OS from Apple:
Better security – iOS devices can already connect to enterprise virtual private networks (VPNs) but it involve brute force methods that drain battery life and bandwidth.
The new iOS 7 allows IT administrators to designate which apps can be allowed into the VPN. This helps keep corporate data secure while allowing bring-your-own-device (BYOD) users enjoy their apps. Apple also provides more tools that mobile device management (MDM) vendors can use to give IT control of their apps.
Single sign-on – The iOS 7 enables single sign-on (SSO) authentication to multiple business apps which are approved by IT departments via MDM.
The new OS also comes with support for Hotspot 2.0 which allows easier transition between cellular and Wi-Fi networks
Better app management – The iOS 7 has an “open-in” management feature that enable IT departments to determine which apps can open specified document. In previous versions of the OS, if a user opened a PDF file in an app that IT had no control over, iOS kept a copy of that file even if IT wiped the device clean.
The iOS 7 now requires users to install a dedicated IT-controlled PDF reader. IT can use “open-in” to prevent users from opening files using un-approved applications.
Apple also introduced a new licensing model for its OS which now allows organizations to re-use or transfer the license in case a worker leaves the company.
Find out more about this and other enterprise-focused features of iOS 7, here