Citrix has developed Project GoldenGate, a prototype e-mail application for smartphones and tablets that can secure e-mails based on location and adapt the user interface depending on the device.
During the Thursday keynote at Citrix's Synergy user conference, CTO Martin Duursma demoed Project GoldenGate, an Exchange e-mail client that runs on XenApp, which is Citrix's platform for running an application remotely on server.
By running the application, in this case e-mail, on the server the IT department can handle smartphones and tablets based on different operating systems without having to support different versions of the client, according to Duursma.
Project GoldenGate can adapt the look and feel of the user interface so that users of, for example, an iPhone or an Android-based smartphone see an interface they are used to. It can also adapt the user interface depending on the screen size.
Project GoldenGate can also take advantage of the integrated support for GPS that many smartphones come with. During the demo Citrix showed how this can be used to protect company secrets. The user was only able to view a confidential e-mail when he was at the office, but when he left the office, the e-mail turned red and remained closed.
Moving the application from the device to a server also allows the user to keep working as if nothing had happened if a smartphone is stolen or dropped in an aquarium, as during the demo.
It gives the IT department an added layer of protection since no data is stored locally, as well.
Project GoldenGate is available via a so-called Technology Concept Release. As yet, no decisions have been made around turning it into a product, according to Citrix.
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