Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync Logo: Peace of Mind for MSPs?

Needless to say, Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync is a popular standard for keeping smartphones in constant touch with the enterprise’s network. And now, Microsoft has teamed up with handset manufacturers for the Exchange ActiveSync Logo Program, which certifies that smartphone mobile mail clients can integrate as fully and securely as you’d want them to. For MSPs, the logo program may offer some peace of mind. Here’s why.

The benefits for MSPs, as laid out in Microsoft’s Exchange Partner Blog, include the fact that they can now promise customers that their devices have available the entire range of security features, including remote wipe and password enforcement — not to mention features like autodiscovery that make setup easier. Microsoft recommends using the program as a way to start the mobile security discussion with your Exchange customers.

As for the Exchange ActiveSync Logo Program itself: Microsoft simply has a third party certify that the handset manufacturer meets the requirements for 14 key ActiveSync functionalities or more. If they do, Microsoft lets them use the Exchange ActiveSync logo in their marketing. Right now, Nokia phones, Apple iOS devices, and — naturally — Windows Phone 7 all meet those requirements. And they’re promising more smartphones (perhaps Google Android?) to come.

No doubt, the Exchange ActiveSync Logo Program is, in its own way, a marketing gimmick. But all the same, it could reduce headaches for a service provider trying to guide their customers to a device that meets their needs.

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