Zenprise adds smartphone remote control and iPad management

Zenprise lets helpdesk staff see what is on the user's smartphone screen

Mobile management specialist Zenprise is adding remote control capability to its MobileManager platform, enabling helpdesk staff to see what is happening on a remote user's smartphone screen, and take control if necessary.

The company is also adding support for Apple's upcoming iPad to MobileManager, so that enterprise IT chiefs will have visibility of any users bringing these devices into the office and connecting them to the company network.

Available from today, Zenprise Remote Control initially supports only BlackBerry devices, but the firm plans to extend this later to Windows Mobile, Android, Palm's Web OS and Apple's iPhone.

The tool is a feature update for the Device Manager module of MobileManager, and is designed to let IT staff remotely assist users calling in with a smartphone problem, or show users how to perform tasks on their handset.

"When users experience problems with their smartphone, it could be that it's not working, or it could be they just don't know how to do something like change time zone," said Zenprise vice president of marketing Ahmed Datoo.

The problem with fielding queries over the phone like this is that the IT person has to ask the user what they can see on their screen and try to blindly walk them through a solution, he explained.

With BlackBerry Remote Control, the technician can see an exact replica of the smartphone's display, and can even step in and remotely access the menus and other controls if necessary.

Essentially, it provides the same capabilities for smartphones that tools such as VNC provide for managing desktop computers, according to Zenprise.

"You can be several thousand miles away, and it's as if the device was in your hands," said Datoo.

Similar tools already exist, notably LogMeIn's Rescue+Mobile, but Zenprise said that many of these rival products are just point solutions, while MobileManager provides a complete end-to-end perspective on the mobile infrastructure.

For example, Datoo said that the Service Manager module allows a technician to see whether there is an issue with the carrier network, or with RIM's staging servers, while Device Manager also shows status information about the handset in question, such as the battery level and the signal strength of the network connection.

"In theory, the last thing you should do is take over control [of a user's handset], and our other MobileManager tools let you see if the problem lies with the infrastructure first," said Datoo.

Meanwhile, Zenprise also claims to be the first enterprise management vendor to include support for Apple's iPad device, which will soon be available. Although not an enterprise device, a recent survey suggest that there is great interest from potential buyers in using the iPad at work.

"IT managers will want to know who is connecting an iPad to the corporate network," said Datoo.

MobileManager will automatically discover all of these, he said, and enable administrators to manage them like a smartphone, making sure the correct s ecurity policies are in place, and that passwords are enabled.