With Blackberry, the king of enterprise security on mobile devices for several years now all but dead and Samsung aggressively pushing its own enterprise security feature for smartphones and other mobile device, KNOX, it was about time someone else also took the cue and followed suit. LG did. LG just announced GATE, its own enterprise security solution for mobile devices that works just like Samsung’s KNOX.
Smartphones are very popular in today’s world and it is now becoming a headache for the guys in IT departments in companies as they have to grapple with employees bringing over their own devices for corporate usage. This has resulted in BYOD programs (BYOD is short for “bring your own device”) and the likes of Samsung (and now LG) are moving in quickly to take advantage and also ensure the same levels of security that are present in internal corporate environments are not compromised by the use of mobile devices (particularly those made by them).
GATE, like KNOX, works by creating virtual “containers” that store personal data separately from corporate/work data by providing on-device encryption. With that in place, the IT admin in your workplace or office can manage your device (just the corporate part of it) without accessing your personal stuff and interfering with your privacy. So access to your device via a VPN (virtual private network), data encryption and remote mobile device management is now possible without crossing the boundaries of the device owner while at the same time safeguarding crucial corporate data. Samsung’s KNOX even got a clean bill of health and vote of confidence after the Galaxy S4 received the US Pentagon’s nod solely due to its security features.
LG GATE will be available in the US later this month and will be ready for LG G2 users since that device is readily supported. There is no word from LG about the fate of other LG devices but most likely those should get an update soon to enable GATE to work. There is also no word on when it will be available in other countries outside the United States.
