Asigra and BYOD: What’s the Game Plan?

Amidst the tabletop demonstrations at the hands-on workshop at Asigra’s recent Cloud Backup Summit, the Toronto-based backup software vendor was offering a look at how it could help MSPs and their customers mitigate risk when it comes to the bring-your-own-device trend going on at companies now. Here’s a quick peek at what Asigra was showing to partners.

If you search Asigra in Google Play or the iTunes market, you’ll find apps for both Android and iOS devices. The store description: “Asigra Cloud Backup allows you to protect your Android tablet data by backing it up in encrypted format to your corporate data center or cloud backup service provider that is Powered By Asigra. Only you can restore and access your data. “

The idea is that corporate information is sealed in this encrypted app on devices, whether they are employee-owned or corporate-owned. Information can be captured on these mobile devices, including video, still photos, text and more. For instance, one organization has used mobile devices to photograph telephone poles in need of repair. The information is encrypted and backed up to an Asigra-Powered cloud.  If the device is lost, data can be recovered from the cloud. (Asigra’s Executive VP Eran Farajun told me that the encrypted data on the device cannot be cracked, and the device can be remotely wiped using any third-party remote-wipe solution.)

Such a BYOD solution would have use cases in any number of vertical industries that capture information on mobile devices, from physician practices to manufacturing to energy.  And it certainly solves one thorny issue in the overall challenge of BYOD and mobility in business, although not nearly all of the issues. An MSP would need to deploy a separate remote wipe solution. Which makes me wonder if we are eventually headed to a world of best-of-breed functions for BYOD — one vendor offers encryption and backup, another offers remote wipe, another offers deployment and configuration. What do you think?