AirWatch Introduces AirWatch Chat for Secure Enterprise Messaging

ATLANTA, Sept. 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Today at AirWatch Connect™, AirWatch^® by VMware, the leading enterprise mobility management (EMM) provider, introduced AirWatch Chat™, a containerized, secure instant messaging application for iOS and Android. AirWatch Chat, available at the end of Q3 2014, will integrate with existing user directory resources for simple, secure messaging across an organization with an intuitive user experience.

"AirWatch continues to expand its platform to address a broad range of use cases with solutions for device, email, applications, browser and now secure enterprise messaging," said Stacy Crook, research director for mobile enterprise research, IDC. "AirWatch Chat enables employees to securely exchange messages with one another across an organization and enables employees with real-time communication and IT with robust security and compliance capabilities. The ability to provide employees with a secure, internal communication tool is especially important for highly regulated industries and security-conscious organizations."

Employees are increasingly seeking ways to communicate with one another instantly, but consumer SMS applications do not provide the security IT requires. Confidential or private messages sent through non-secure messaging applications, create potential for major risks, especially for highly-regulated industries such as healthcare, government, finance and legal. Companies deploying AirWatch Chat will benefit from the FIPS compliant algorithms and familiar user experience found on consumer SMS applications.

"The healthcare industry is calling for comprehensive clinical communication solutions, with the understanding that patients' privacy is the priority," said Nader Eskander, director of infrastructure, Franciscan Alliance Information Services. "We see a great need for a platform that allows the exchange of this highly sensitive information in a secure and friendly manner."

Key features of AirWatch Chat will include:

• Enterprise-grade message security that provides end-to-end message level encryption, trusted device detection, single sign-on integration and app-level authentication, data encryption at rest and the ability to archive messages for audits on an as-needed basis.
• Data loss prevention capabilities such as restricting multimedia messages, disabling copy/paste, preventing screen captures and restricting the use of the camera.
• Native user experience that reflects consumer SMS applications, including threaded messages, availability status, fetching offline messages, message delivery confirmation and user profile pictures.
• Administration settings such as enabling AirWatch Chat on Wi-Fi only and usage as software-as-a-service or on-premises.

"AirWatch enables the enterprise to secure mobile content from end-to-end, but when employees use consumer SMS applications, they may inadvertently expose sensitive information and compromise mobile security," said John Marshall, senior vice president and general manager, AirWatch by VMware. "We launched AirWatch Chat to provide a friendly user experience while extending the security and management capabilities IT demands. AirWatch Chat, along with our suite of enterprise-grade applications such as AirWatch Inbox, AirWatch Browser and AirWatch Secure Content Locker, provide the most comprehensive enterprise mobility management platform for our customers."

AirWatch Chat will be available by the end of Q3 2014. Contact AirWatch sales or a local AirWatch reseller partner for pricing. To learn more about AirWatch Chat, please visit www.air-watch.com.  

About AirWatch by VMware
AirWatch by VMware is the leader in enterprise mobility management, with more than 13,000 global customers. The AirWatch platform includes industry-leading mobile device, email, application, content, and browser management solutions. Organizations can implement these solutions across device types and use cases, including complete EMM for corporate and line of business deployments, and containerized solutions for Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) programs. Acquired by VMware in February 2014, AirWatch is based in Atlanta and can be found online at www.air-watch.com. VMware is headquartered in Silicon Valley and can be found online at www.vmware.com.

VMware, AirWatch Connect, AirWatch Chat and AirWatch by VMware are registered trademarks or trademarks of VMware, Inc. or its subsidiary in the United States and other jurisdictions. The use of the word "partner" or "partnership" does not imply a legal partnership relationship between VMware and any other company.

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SOURCE AirWatch by VMware