When Apple released iOS 4.2 earlier this month, most of the hype and interest centered around the new features and functions it would bring to the iPad.
But as Enterprise Mobile Today reports, enterprise IT administrators might be most enthused by the new mobile operating system thanks to some new security and device-management features that make it easier for companies to integrate and monitor all these new tablets in their ecosystems.
iPad now supports SSL VPN, making it possible to connect to a corporate network via VPN On Demand. Juniper and Cisco have also announced apps to support SSL VPN on iOS devices.
Apple now allows enterprise users to host and wirelessly distribute custom apps to employees’ iPads, and it makes APIs available to enable third-party solutions for wirelessly configuring and updating settings, monitoring corporate policy compliance and even wiping or locking lost or stolen iPads remotely.
The arrival last week of iOS 4.2, the latest version of Apple’s mobile operating systems for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, was, we were told, a big deal for iPad users — and for enterprises deploying or contemplating deploying Apple’s tablet computer.
Several important new features introduced earlier on the iPhone and iPod Touch finally made it to the iPad — multitasking, folders, unified email, wireless printing. They do make it a better business tool for mobile computing, arguably a much better one.