IBM MobileFirst is a solution designed to help business enterprises transform how they operate from managing employee mobile devices to creating mobile commerce apps.
The software has been introduced to help enterprises transform and engage their ecosystem from employees, clients, partners and even investors in the way they want or choose to compute, through a key focus on functionality.
IBM MobileFirst is available for use not only on the high-end smartphones and tablets but has also been uniquely developed for use on feature phones through the USSD communication platform, allowing feature phone users to carryout mobile transactions through text sent via a USSD code.
With mobile computing transforming industries at a high rate across Africa and the globe as a whole, IBM MobileFirst provides a platform through which enterprises can tap into the potential of mobile business. The MobileFirst solution provides for rapid integration between social and cloud services as well as back-end technologies that help secure and manage strategic business processes.
Enterprises will therefore be able to roll out a mobile infrastructure to help facilitate management of mobile application portfolios and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) environments, if they choose to implement the program.
Also, enterprises will be able to map out a mobile strategy for their employees and customers through the design and strategy services being offered by the tech giant.
SECURITY CONCERNS:
As mobile use increases and with the expected number of cell phones by end of year standing at 7.3 billion, IBM’s MobileFirst promises a mobile computing experience that is more secure with a security platform that will protect both the device and the applications in the device.
MobileFirst secures your mobile computing by putting a wrapper around the app to ensure there is no third party interference, and in the case there is an attempt to hack into transactions, the software detects the disruption and reacts immediately. If a third party is trying to hack your device, the solution automatically detects unusual activity depending on the user’s settings and shuts down the device to stop access.
In the case an application is infected with malware, the software implements remote wiping, a solution that picks out the specific data or application that is infected and wipes it out. With the growing use of mobile in doing business, the security perimeter is shifting from the internal business structure and away from the internal firewall hence the need for protection against the ‘Man in the Middle’ or the third party threatening your privacy.
IBM has realised there is need for enterprises to offer protection of information to their ecosystems and has introduced a solution that adds value to the mobile market and provides for secure mobile computing by ensuring your device is protected before the start of any transaction.
MobileFirst has a function to protect enterprise transactions, content and applications, to engage the enterprises’ ecosystem and Transform the business model in order to achieve safe and secure deployment with protected codes through usability testing with AppScan.
