Mobile device management firm Mformation has unveiled a solution for mobile broadband devices that it says will bring manageability and control to a wide range of computing devices, including tablets, notebooks and laptops, that connect over mobile operator networks. The company says the solution will help mobile operators break into the wider market of computing devices.

The solution will enable enterprises and service providers to secure the devices and the data on them; remotely disable access to the devices; manage and enforce policies on the devices, including offloading data traffic onto wi-fi; inventory the devices, including device capabilities, modem, OS, registry and application information; ensure that IT Help Desk and customer care staff can diagnose problems easily and resolve support calls quickly; configure and reconfigure network parameters; monitor the performance and availability of services ; and update firmware and software on the devices.

Mformation is using a range of client technologies on the devices to create the solution, including its own standards-based OpenDM client, which will ship preloaded on a wide range of computing devices. Mformation’s mobile broadband solution will also work with a range of other client technologies, including all standardized clients (e.g., OMA DM clients) and other native solutions such as the Apple native client for iOS4 on the iPad.

Mformation’s device management platform supports nearly 5,000 different mobile device models, with support for computing devices being added now. The company says the platform is continually evolving to support new, next-generation networks such as LTE, devices and value-added services. 

“We see the connected computing segment exploding, highlighted by devices like the iPad and Android tablets,” says Rowan Scranage, SVP global business development and corporate strategy at Mformation. “This is a key area for mobile device and security management, and we are bringing a similar level of manageability to computing devices as we already bring to mobile devices.”