The new version of iPass' Open Mobile platform has added security and more controls for enterprises to keep track of data usage, the company said on Tuesday.
The Open Mobile platform provides broadband connections to road warriors via Wi-Fi hotspots around the world using laptops (both Windows and Mac OS), tablets and smartphones, according to iPass. New features in version 2.0 include a usage meter and endpoint verification.
The employee usage meter allows users with Apple's iPhone or an Android-based smartphone to audit their Wi-Fi and 3G usage. It will then alert users, and their employer, when they are getting close to their monthly limit.
Attaching to the enterprise network using public Wi-Fi hotspots also comes with certain risks. The endpoint integrity verification feature controls what anti-virus, personal firewall and anti-spyware products must be running when an Internet connection is active, and it also has the ability to define what individual processes must be running, or not running, according to iPass.
Wi-Fi networks have come to play an increasingly important role in remote connectivity, as operators look for ways to offload ways their mobile networks.
The number of hotspot locations is expected to increase to over 1 million in 2013, compared to an estimated 630,000 by the end of 2011, according to market research company In-Stat.