Tax Office picks BlackBerry for mobile devices trial
The pilot will include email, contact and calendar applications for 400 ATO managers to use on iPads, notebooks and smartphones.
Known for its handsets, which have taken a back seat in recent years to Apple's iPhone and Google Android devices, BlackBerry is rallying with a push into compliance and security software to manage burgeoning fleets of corporate and bring-your-own mobile devices.
The ATO does not expect to issue BlackBerry's latest Q10 handsets to staff in the trial. ATO chief information officer Bill Gibson says the agency has struck a balance between security and usability by being selective about the content it permits. "We're looking at how extensible it is into file-sharing or how we would handle more sensitive information," he says.
"We're a bit of a follower so we looked at what other government agencies were doing and the level of hardening being done."
BlackBerry, like some other mobile device management systems, enables the use of "containers" on handsets. Mr Gibson says these "protected app enclaves" are very controllable and secure but only with severe constraints, including forcing users to work with different apps for common tasks.
The ATO considered Good Technology and AirWatch solutions but was swayed by its existing relationship with BlackBerry.
"We looked at an approach that was more flexible and used native clients on the devices and therefore obtain a better balance between usability and security," Mr Gibson says. "Lock these down and it becomes a little bit unusable, or relax it a bit and change the scope of what information you are prepared to expose and that makes it more flexible.
"We talk about 'usable while secure' - five years ago it would have been 'secure', and 'usable' would be an afterthought."
Full story: theage.com.au/it-pro
Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
The ATO is running a BlackBerry software pilot that will provide email, contacts and calendar applications to about 400 ATO managers to use on iPads, notebooks and smartphones. The trial builds on the agency's existing relationship with BlackBerry and focuses on software rather than issuing new handsets.
The ATO was influenced by its existing relationship with BlackBerry and BlackBerry's shift into compliance and enterprise security software. The agency said it wanted a balance between security and usability and felt BlackBerry's approach—using native clients and hardened controls—offered the right trade-off.
No. The ATO does not expect to issue BlackBerry's latest Q10 handsets to staff as part of the trial; the pilot is focused on software management across multiple device types rather than distributing Q10 phones.
Yes. The pilot will support email, contact and calendar apps on iPads, notebooks and smartphones used by the 400 participating ATO managers, rather than being limited to BlackBerry handsets.
According to the article, BlackBerry is pushing into compliance and security software and mobile device management. Its systems can create 'containers' or protected app enclaves on devices to separate and control corporate data, which helps manage corporate and bring-your-own-device (BYOD) fleets.
Containers (protected app enclaves) are isolated areas on a handset that keep corporate apps and data separate from personal use. The ATO said these are controllable and secure but come with severe constraints—sometimes forcing users to use different apps for common tasks—which can affect usability.
Yes. The ATO considered Good Technology and AirWatch solutions but was ultimately swayed by its existing relationship with BlackBerry and a desire for a more flexible approach using native device clients to balance usability and security.
The article notes that BlackBerry has shifted emphasis away from handsets toward compliance and security software for enterprise mobile device management. The ATO pilot—focused on software for 400 managers—illustrates BlackBerry's attempt to gain traction in managing corporate and BYOD fleets, which is a notable strategic pivot for the company.
Call 1300 880 160
Start a chat
Schedule a call
