Mobile Virtualization – Enterprise Mobility Security Solution?

Virtualization is new to mobile, but established in the data center, fundamental in cloud computing and increasingly popular on the desktop. Mobile Virtualization lets handset OEMs, operators/carriers and end-users get more out of mobile hardware. Virtualization also helps a phone run with fewer chips. Today, mobile phones typically require a baseband processor, which enables the phone to communicate; an applications processor, responsible for running applications like e-mail; and a multimedia chip, which handles graphics, audio, and video. But a virtualized phone can accomplish all of the above with just one or two processors instead of three.It decouples mobile OSes and applications from the hardware they run on, enabling secure applications and services on less expensive devices today and deployment on advanced hardware tomorrow.

Virtualization software enables a mobile-phone maker to add features regardless of the operating system without having to rewrite the entire application for each of the various operating systems like Symbian, Windows Mobile, Androids etc

An enterprise mobility solution based on virtualization should feature well-built separation of secured (enterprise) and unsecured (personal) operation domains – company assets and personal data and apps occupy separate and secure cells, isolated from one another, running on unique instances of one or more mobile OSes. By enabling an unsecured (and unrestricted) and a secured (and restricted) virtual phone to coexist on a single physical device in separate cells, mobile virtualization helps to accommodate the needs of both the individual and the enterprise. Moreover, by isolating mobile enterprise assets (Mobile Device Management (MDM) agents, endpoint security software, regular data and applications), mobile virtualization effectively "protects the protectors." It complements and strengthens MDM, anti-virus, and other mobile technologies, resulting in a strong mix of security, privacy, and functionality.

Thus, with mobile virtualization, individuals can bring their personal devices to work and they willingly let employers install enterprise mobility software because a virtualization-based solution does not threaten personal privacy or limit the websites and apps they want to access. Employers, in turn, enjoy increased productivity from their employees and are willing to let them use the software and services they want with a straightforward and thorough approach to security.