Sprint Upgrades Mobility Management with VMware Partnership

Sprint Business is adding two VMware device-management products to its arsenal.

Sprint claims it is the first U.S. carrier to jointly offer the workspace management platform Workspace ONE and its mobile-focused cousin AirWatch Express.

Rival carrier AT&T was offering Workspace One and an on-premises version of AirWatch at last check, but Sprint said in its Wednesday announcement that it’s the first to include AirWatch Express with Workspace One.

Both solutions let customers secure and manage their devices through the cloud or on premises. Businesses adopting mobility can assure that their roaming employees can safely access mission-critical applications, Sprint said.

Sprint’s Ivo Rook

“With the explosion of mobile computing in today’s business environment, it is more important than ever for businesses and their employees to have a simpler way to manage all applications and devices within their networks,” said Ivo Rook, Sprint’s senior vice president of IoT and product development. “Providing companies with platforms to effectively manage every kind of device will save time and resources, enable smarter business decisions, and allow easier configuration from remote locations.”

Workspace One gives employees a single-on to manage mobile, desktop and IoT devices, while AirWatch Express gives small businesses a setup wizard to more quickly configure mobile devices.

Sprint has been stacking its portfolio with security, IT and mobility-focused partnerships in the last year. The company enhanced its business Wi-Fi with Cisco Meraki and is touting its new IoT management platform. Sprint’s partnership with Zscaler and Samsung Knox increased management capabilities for the mobile devices that are taking on increasing data and risk. A Frost & Sullivan analyst told us that the carrier was completing its portfolio to create a convenient landing spot for potential customers.

“Workspace One and AirWatch Express are part of an expanding security portfolio offered by Sprint Business,” Sprint said. “Focused on connecting people, places and things, Sprint Business can transform and manage an entire organization’s information systems operation to make doing business easier and smarter — from SMBs, enterprises to government organizations.”

VMware continues to play in a variety of tech niches. Its VeloCloud unit powers SD-WAN platforms for service providers. Channel Futures wrote last week about the updates to VMware’s cloud strategy.