MWC 2012: BlackBerry still viewed as safest bet by IT pros

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Many mobile manufacturers have made their way into the workplace, thanks to the consumerisation of IT. However, there is still one brand IT professionals view as the most secure and that title is given to BlackBerry.

This was the claim made by Steve Levy, chief executive (CEO) of the enterprise mobile app platform company Verivo.

During an interview with IT Pro, he claimed many devices were used by employees thanks to the increasing trend of 'BYOD' or Bring Your Own Device.

"I believe the company can no longer control what device [their systems] will be put on," he said. "Employees used to be given their work device, now they bring it in."

However, Levy said those running the IT department would support just one device - the BlackBerry - if they had their way.

"If IT could [stipulate] what employees brought in it would be BlackBerry," he said. "It is the most secure solution. But those days of IT [making that decision] are gone."

Verivo's own platform works across Android, iPhone and BlackBerry devices, but questions still hover over the suitability of Apple's flagship product when building enterprise apps.

"Everybody is aware that Apple tends to exercise, shall we say, more control than others," said Levy.

"Users have to rely on their discretion with their apps [and data] so you just have to hope it is not at their whim."

Yet, he claims his goal is to offer the customer choice, so if they want to build an app for Apple devices, his company, which has just launched in the UK, will provide the platform.

Jennifer Scott

Jennifer Scott is a former freelance journalist and currently political reporter for Sky News. She has a varied writing history, having started her career at Dennis Publishing, working in various roles across its business technology titles, including ITPro. Jennifer has specialised in a number of areas over the years and has produced a wealth of content for ITPro, focusing largely on data storage, networking, cloud computing, and telecommunications.

Most recently Jennifer has turned her skills to the political sphere and broadcast journalism, where she has worked for the BBC as a political reporter, before moving to Sky News.