GFI Max MDM Update Welcomes Windows Phone 8.1

GFI Software is taking aim at Windows Phone 8.1.

The company, through its managed service provider (MSP) division, GFI MAX, has rolled out a new version of its cloud-based mobile device management (MDM) platform to include support for Microsoft’s latest mobile operating system (OS), Windows Phone 8.1. Bringing Windows Phone into the fold extends the GFI’s MDM capabilities for MSPs to the “big three” mobile operating systems, according to the company. GFI MAX MDM also offers support for Apple iOS and Google Android.

Windows Phone 8.1 is a major update for Microsoft. The new mobile OS supports Universal Windows Apps, a development model that allows developers to code once and publish to Windows PCs, tablets and smartphones.

It also includes Microsoft’s answer to Siri, Cortana. The voice-enabled digital assistant leverages the software giant’s Bing search platform and machine-learning research to intelligently aid users in organizing and completing day-to-day tasks.

In addition to casting a wider net for smartphone OSes, the latest version of GFI MAX MDM also supports Android Wi-Fi provisioning with instant update notifications. Also new is a location history report, that chronicles the location of devices of Android or Windows phones “over a period of months,” said GFI.

Finally, GFI MAX MDM can now generate inventory reports. The option gives MSPs an accounting of all the devices that they are managing for their customers.

The new features arrive seven months after the company launched GFI MAX MDM, amid a frenzy for cloud-based mobile management solutions.

In December, IBM snapped up Fiberlink, the privately held, Blue Bell, Penn.-based maker of the MaaS360 cloud MDM platform. VMware, an EMC subsidiary, made headlines in January by acquiring the rapidly-growing MDM startup AirWatch for $1.5 billion.

The companies are on the right track, suggests data from a recent Research and Markets forecast.

Worldwide, the number of enterprise bring your own devices (BYOD) in circulation around is currently 180 million, a figure that will more than double to 390 million by 2015. The firm also predicts that cloud-based MDM solutions will overtake premise-based software by 2019.

Pedro Hernandez is a contributing editor at Datamation. Follow him on Twitter @ecoINSITE.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

RELATED NEWS AND ANALYSIS

• Huawei’s AI Update: Things Are Moving Faster Than We Think

  FEATURE |  By Rob Enderle,
  December 04, 2020

• Keeping Machine Learning Algorithms Honest in the ‘Ethics-First’ Era

  ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By Guest Author,
  November 18, 2020

• Key Trends in Chatbots and RPA

  FEATURE |  By Guest Author,
  November 10, 2020

• Top 10 AIOps Companies

  FEATURE |  By Samuel Greengard,
  November 05, 2020

• What is Text Analysis?

  ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By Guest Author,
  November 02, 2020

• How Intel’s Work With Autonomous Cars Could Redefine General Purpose AI

  ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By Rob Enderle,
  October 29, 2020

• Dell Technologies World: Weaving Together Human And Machine Interaction For AI And Robotics

  ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By Rob Enderle,
  October 23, 2020

• The Super Moderator, or How IBM Project Debater Could Save Social Media

  FEATURE |  By Rob Enderle,
  October 16, 2020

• Top 10 Chatbot Platforms

  FEATURE |  By Cynthia Harvey,
  October 07, 2020

• Finding a Career Path in AI

  ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By Guest Author,
  October 05, 2020

• CIOs Discuss the Promise of AI and Data Science

  FEATURE |  By Guest Author,
  September 25, 2020

• Microsoft Is Building An AI Product That Could Predict The Future

  FEATURE |  By Rob Enderle,
  September 25, 2020

• Top 10 Machine Learning Companies 2020

  FEATURE |  By Cynthia Harvey,
  September 22, 2020

• NVIDIA and ARM: Massively Changing The AI Landscape

  ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By Rob Enderle,
  September 18, 2020

• Continuous Intelligence: Expert Discussion [Video and Podcast]

  ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By James Maguire,
  September 14, 2020

• Artificial Intelligence: Governance and Ethics [Video]

  ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By James Maguire,
  September 13, 2020

• IBM Watson At The US Open: Showcasing The Power Of A Mature Enterprise-Class AI

  FEATURE |  By Rob Enderle,
  September 11, 2020

• Artificial Intelligence: Perception vs. Reality

  FEATURE |  By James Maguire,
  September 09, 2020

• Anticipating The Coming Wave Of AI Enhanced PCs

  FEATURE |  By Rob Enderle,
  September 05, 2020

• The Critical Nature Of IBM’s NLP (Natural Language Processing) Effort

  ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE |  By Rob Enderle,
  August 14, 2020