MSPmentor has taken a closer look at a handful of mobile device management vendors over the last month. This week it’s the turn of Fiberlink, a privately held company that has spent its 20 years in business helping companies with the challenges of mobility from dial to Wifi to hotel broadband to VPN and tunnels.

Jessica Davis

July 16, 2012

2 Min Read
A Closer Look: MDM MaaS360 Provider Fiberlink

MaaS360_logo_by_Fiberlink

MSPmentor has taken a closer look at a handful of mobile device management vendors over the last month. This week it’s the turn of Fiberlink, a privately held company that has spent its 20 years in business helping companies with the challenges of mobility from dial to Wifi to hotel broadband to VPN and tunnels. But in 2007 the company started managing endpoints such as desktops and laptops, eventually expanding to smartphones and tablets through its MaaS360 platform. Here’s the story.

Fiberlink offers a cloud-based SaaS service designed to manage mobile devices for companies. It works through both direct sales and the channel, with 30 to 40 percent of sales going indirect. The service works through what Fiberlink calls a “cloud extender” a 12 to 14 megabyte piece of software that fits into a customer environment. There’s no need for a separate appliance, Jonathan Dale, product marketing manager for Fiberlink, told MSPmentor.

The service gets devices enrolled and under management. Then administrators can use it to act on the device. Included functions are remote device wipes, locating the device, seeing if the device is or is not where it is supposed to be and performing contextual-based changes on the devices.  It is capable of geo-sensing. It also provides customer companies with encrypted data stores where business information can be kept. Other capabilities include app wrapping, app security, application white listing and black listing, and real time data monitoring. The system can also be used to manage laptops, desktops, PCs and Macs.

All SaaS All the Time

Dale tells me that Fiberlink has opted for a 100 percent SaaS-based platform because the company wants the most agile management platform that you can get.  “It’s a holistic ecosystem,” Dale told me. “It’s not just data, it’s not just a device, it’s not just a user.”

Fiberlink’s partner program includes about 200 global referral partners.  Those partners are outnumbered, however, by Fiberlink’s reseller partners, who make up the largest partner segment. Fiberlink also partners with CDW and distributors such as BrightStar/Tech Data overseas. MSPs include Vox Mobile.  Fiberlink also partners with carriers such as Verizon wireless.

Dale says Fiberlink offers branding and skinning on a par partner basis. MSP partners can see all of their end user accounts under a centralized dashboard.

This week Fiberlink is adding a Philadelphia office to its list of facilities for its workforce of 300.  The new office will house up to 140 new engineers, salespeople, researchers and technicians. Fiberlink’s headquarters is in Blue Bell, Pa.

MSPmentor will continue to profile MDM providers in the weeks ahead. Is there one you’d like us to take a look at? Comment on this blog post and let us know who should come next.

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About the Author(s)

Jessica Davis

Jessica Davis is the former Content Director for MSPmentor. She spent her career covering the intersection of business and technology.  She's also served as Editor in Chief at Channel Insider and held senior editorial roles at InfoWorld and Electronic News.

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