Mobile authentication and encryption services for enterprises are growing dynamically with the saturation of cloud-based applications and BYOD trends, according to ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com).
Organizations are looking to maximize the benefits of these technologies while maintaining a level of security that satisfies compliance and the protection of corporate resources, according to the research group. These need to be further balanced against flexibility and manageability; without these guarantees, even the most secure solutions are useless.
For mobile encryption technology, this means effective key management. For authentication, it may be SSO or tokenless access. The field of application for mobile authentication and encryption services is wide, and the demands are varied.
ABI Research says an innovative market in mobile-specific services for authenticating users and devices has cropped up to address the growing requirements for seamless and unified access. Encryption plays a vital role in enabling VPN services, and the protection of data and applications. The service models most likely to succeed will need to allow integration with corporate resources as well as competitive MDM or MAM product offerings. The market is far from consolidating, revealing that organizations themselves are unsure of exactly what they need.
ABI Research estimates the current mobile encryption software and services market will total US$230 million by the end of 2013. The market will offer significant opportunities for security vendors and MDM service providers. OEMs are still waiting for the direction of the market demand to come into focus before investing the space. The biggest laggards are mobile network operators, despite the fact that they have substantial advantages that they are far from leveraging. The report interviewed five innovative companies offering mobile authentication and encryption services: Centrify, Corisecio, RSA, SafeLayer, and SecurAuth.