3LM, Symantec and Wyse all aim to simplify management of mobile devices

Enterprises are split over whether the BYOD trend is just a headache or something that should be fully embraced

At three different events in three different U.S. cities 3LM, Symantec and Wyse Technology are all showing upgraded or new products to help IT staff better cope with the smartphones, tablets and other devices users are allowed to bring to work.

The bring-your-own-device (BYOD) trend has become a force to be reckoned with. For example, 75 percent of companies which have less than 1,000 employees currently help manage and support the personal devices employees bring into the workplace, according to a survey conducted by Spiceworks.

So, management software is key to making those devices work in the enterprise.

On Tuesday, at CTIA Wireless in New Orleans, 3LM announced the release of version 3.0 of its security and management platform, the company said.

3LM's Mobile Device and Application Management platform can now handle smartphones and tablets running Google's Android 4.0. Version 3.0 also adds the ability to manage Apple's iPhones and iPads.

Other new features include the ability to prevent users from copying data between corporate apps and non-corporate apps and a new easier to use interface for the IT administrator, according to 3LM.

The new version is generally available, 3LM said without elaborating on the pricing.

The ability to separate corporate apps and non-corporate apps is an integral part of how the IT department can handle users bringing their own devices to work.

With Symantec's acquisition of Nukona, which was completed in April, the company now offers CIOs the cross-platform mobile application management software needed to help organizations do just that and protect sensitive data, the company said on Tuesday at its Vision user conference in Las Vegas.

The app and data protection capabilities from Nukona are available from Symantec in the cloud and on-premise.

Symantec also announced Data Loss Prevention for Mobile, which further develops its Data Loss Prevention for Tablets (the iPad) by adding Apple's iPhones.

The software will help monitor and control the transmission of confidential data from mobile devices without restricting users' access to applications, and is expected to start shipping in the second half of 2012, Symantec said.

Just like many other areas, management software can also be moved to the cloud. On that note, Wyse, which is in the process of being acquired by Dell, announced the Project Stratus private beta program on Tuesday.

Project Stratus will provide IT administrators with a cloud-based console to manage any device, regardless if is owned by the company or the employee, according to Wyse. At first, it will focus on securing and allowing corporate access to smartphones, tablets, thin clients, and zero clients, the company said.

Wyse will be demonstrating Project Stratus at Citrix Synergy 2012, which starts on Wednesday in San Francisco.

Today, IT professionals at SMBs are split on the BYOD trend. While 20 percent fully embrace the trend as the future; 35 percent concede that it works well for some devices, but not for others; 25 percent claim it's a headache for their IT department; and the remaining 20 percent have not yet formed an opinion, according to Spiceworks' survey.

So vendors like 3LM, Symantec and Wyse still have some work to do.

Send news tips and comments to mikael_ricknas@idg.com

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