NEW DELHI, INDIA: Sybase iAnywhere has announced that its Information Anywhere Suite Afaria component, which provides mobile device management and security capabilities, now supports the latest mobile devices based on the Symbian platform. Sybase iAnywhere is providing management capabilities combined with a policy-based, managed security solution to ensure central IT control of Symbian devices. 

Appealing to the mixed device environments of many global organizations, companies can leverage Afaria to manage and secure a range of mobile devices based on Windows Mobile, Palm and now Symbian handhelds, and Windows laptops.

"With the rise in popularity of Symbian OS handhelds for enterprise use, it is critical  for companies to be able to centrally control, back up and secure these devices used by mobile workers," said Joe Owen, vice president of engineering, Sybase iAnywhere. "Our customers are excited that we are bringing the same managed security approach to Symbian devices as we provide on other platforms, which allows IT to enforce important security policies such as enforced power-on password and device lockdown."

"Symbian is a proven operating system that is seeing widespread adoption within enterprises in EMEA," said Lars Vestergaard, Research Director, European Wireless and Mobile Communications at IDC. "The ability to now secure Symbian devices is an important extension of the cross-platform support provided by Afaria from Sybase iAnywhere, who are already recognized as the leader in mobile device management enterprise software by IDC." *

"With the addition of security for the Symbian operating system, Sybase iAnywhere enables us to offer a complete management and security solution for our customers, many of whom have a mixed profile of Windows Mobile and other smartphone devices," said Magne Gabrielsen, director of System Development, SmartPhones telecom AS. "With the importance of mobile security rapidly growing in Europe, combined with the wide acceptance of Symbian devices, Sybase iAnywhere presents a great solution for businesses who are looking to develop a mobile plan and require security as part of their deployment."

Security capabilities for Symbian OS v9 include:

Enforced Power-On password
Administrator defined password format requirements
Password expiration
Device lockdown after exceeding allowed password attempts

Mobile management capabilities for Symbian OS v9 include:

OTA software distribution
Data backup and restore
Hardware and software inventory collection
Software license management
Custom scripting component for automating electronic file distribution, file and directory management, program execution and notifications.