VMware, Samsung Expand Partnership to Sell Knox, AirWatch EMM

A new agreement between VMware (VMW) and Samsung will allow the virtualization giant to resell Samsung Knox Workspace globally, with the AirWatch Enterprise Mobility Management Suite now available in the United States via Samsung Business Services.

The expanded partnership was announced this week during AirWatch Connect, VMware’s annual enterprise mobility conference. The deal is the latest development in the two companies’ ongoing business relationship, with AirWatch recently announcing support for full device containerization and biometric authentication features for Knox-enabled devices with the launch of AirWatch 8.1 in August.

“Samsung is a longtime and valuable partner to both AirWatch and VMware, and we are excited to offer our customers the benefit of a combined AirWatch and Samsung KNOX offering,” said Susan Nash, vice president of End-User Computing at VMware, in a statement. “Together we are helping enable business mobility in organizations around the world that want to transform business processes and enhance security.”

VMware has pledged to offer a number of supporting services to help its customers onboard Knox Workspace, including procurement, policy enablement, app installation and deployment for Samsung Galaxy devices, according to the announcement.

VMware acquired AirWatch nearly two years ago for more than $1.5 billion, effectively adding enterprise mobility management to its portfolio.

“Samsung is thrilled to support this strategic alliance with AirWatch, bringing together two industry leaders in mobile device management and security,” said Rick Segal, vice president of Samsung Electronics Enterprise Business Team. “Both companies will be able to support a range of services that will ultimately increase productivity and help companies manage their security more effectively.”