Apple’s New Security Czar Should Scare RIM

The competition between Apple and Research in Motion is heating up, with a new security czar and a slew of iPhone security applications helping Apple gain a firm foothold in the enterprise smartphone market.

Until recently, RIM’s dominance in the corporate arena has gone unchallenged, with BlackBerry setting the industry standard for business-level smartphone security. RIM’s BlackBerry Enterprise Server also delivers collaboration and synchronisation between accounts, setting the company apart in the mobile space.

It is this sophisticated encryption technology that has infuriated security officials in India and the Middle East in recent months, due to their inability to monitor text messages and emails being sent and received by BlackBerry users in those countries. Despite being forced to compromise with some governments, most security experts still regard the BlackBerry as the most secure smartphone available.

However, reports today state that Apple has appointed former National Security Agency analyst David Rice as the company’s global director of security, a move that indicates that Apple is stepping up its efforts in the enterprise mobility space.

Talking the talk

Rice is expected to join Apple in March. While there is currently no information about what Rice’s job will entail, All Things Digital reports that “Those who know Rice describe him as a deeply respected name in IT security circles who not only can speak the kind of language that makes CIOs comfortable, but can also back up that language with the skills and knowledge to match.”

Rice made a name for himself in the security community with the publication of his book Geekonomics, which focuses on securing software infrastructure. He is also a member of IT security research body IANS and has a master’s degree in information warfare from the Naval Postgraduate School.

His appointment, together with help from several small security software developers – such as Good Technology, MobileIron and NetHawk – is putting Apple in a strong position to launch an attack on the business market.

One company that is experimenting with new Apple enterprise applications is Deutsche Bank. The German company has reportedly been working with Good Technology to deliver corporate email to some employees, in a trial that its internal analyst said was “overwhelmingly positive”.

“What they’re very good at doing is going into an enterprise where they’re very concerned about security and say we’re going to beef up the iPhone and iPad because they’re not very secure,” said analyst Jack Gold of J.Gold Associates, referring to Good Technologies. “It basically puts a lockbox around an unsecure device.”

Apple targets the enterprise

Apple’s actions have hinted at the company’s intention to break into the enterprise for some time now. In October 2010, for example, Apple signed a deal with Unisys to provide maintenance and other services for large organisations purchasing Apple devices, ensuring they work well with existing systems.

Then in November, a report in the Wall Street Journal revealed that Apple had been luring RIM sales staff to join the company and help push the iPhone and iPad into corporate accounts.

“The corporate market is RIM’s market, and Apple has been closing on the company steadily while RIM has shown little ability to really fight back,” said industry analyst Rob Enderle at the time. “RIM either needs to significantly up their game or plan to cede this market to Apple, Google and even Microsoft.”

With Apple’s iPad still storming ahead of RIM’s enterprise-focused PlayBook tablet, and use of iPhones and iPads in the workplace increasing, Apple’s new security czar is bound to have RIM quaking in its boots. With around 80 percent of it users currently based in the enterprise, RIM needs to develop a new business model if it is to continue to be a competitor.

Interestingly, RIM has been making great efforts to increase its appeal within the consumer market. For example, the BlackBerry Torch 9800, with capacitive touch-screen and sliding keyboard, is designed to appeal to “every customer new to the BlackBerry.”

“Business smartphone users of every sort are thinking of their devices as multimedia devices, enabled to do everything from email to video conferencing to MP3 files,” said Charles King, an analyst with Pund-IT Research. “So it makes perfect sense for RIM to try and update with its own products.”

It seems unlikely, however, that RIM will pose any real threat to Apple – or any of the other big players – in the consumer space. There is no harm in RIM dabbling in other arenas, but if it is to stand any chance of holding off the competition from Apple, the company needs to put everything it has into protecting its core enterprise market share.