WatchDox Expands Portable Document Security For BlackBerrys, iPhones and iPads

Since the dawn of IT, security has typically been at odds with user-friendliness. That challenge has the potential to rise to new heights with the steadily expanding stream of portable devices in the hands of users handling enterprise documents on their tablets and smartphones. WatchDox, already in the business of document security, just released an update to its namesake product that promises to reconcile the challenges of securely handling documents with the latest trends of mobile device usage.

During a recent conversation, WatchDox's VP of marketing and business development, Adi Ruppin, described one of the fundamental problems in contemporary hyper-connectivity and how his company's solution solves it. Most modern business networks go to great lengths to control and secure their desktop and laptop environments, but often accept that mobile devices are inherently less secure. Ruppin also alluded to how WikiLeaks and similar recent data breaches validate the need for documents to be controlled, not only from the access perspective, but also by the person who has the ability to print, forward, copy or otherwise use the documents. This is where WatchDox lives, breathes and shines, with a feature set that ranges from remotely revoking and restricting the handling of documents to taking measures against screen copies and even the copying of document displays with a digital camera. All with user ease in mind.

WatchDox has been in the document control and protection game since 2007, with an impressive ability to leave nothing to chance when it comes to knowing that any document shared with others can be "revoked" or otherwise limited in usability should the need arise. The product set gets richer as you consider its APIs link into the likes of SharePoint and its super-secure Virtual Data Room functionality. Though there has already been a number of tools in the WatchDox shed that make secure document control simple to execute, the latest release adds support for BlackBerry devices and steps up the existing capabilities of document control over iPad and iPhone devices.

For iPad and iPhone, the latest WatchDox app is downloadable from the Apple App Store (although you need a WatchDox account to use it). The update includes new passcode protection of files as an added layer of security, document synchronization that eliminates the need for alternative and potentially leaky sync tools, and enhancements that deliver secure documents faster. On the BlackBerry side of life, all of the same features are now supported, with accurate rendering of PDF and Microsoft Office documents on BlackBerry devices. Though Android is not mentioned in this release, it is already supported.

As I tend to the needs and wants of my very large and increasingly distributed client base, there is no doubt that the mobile device genie is never going back in the bottle. Policy alone can never tame the security concerns of enterprise data on mobile devices, and it is not surprising to see a growing number of solutions that seek to improve synchronization and security across the mobile platforms that make up the swelling bring-your-own device (BYOD) universe.

Regardless of whether your enterprise bites on a mobile platform solution aimed at device management, the ability to secure the documents on those devices with a tool like WatchDox should be considered mandatory, in my opinion. These days, there's just too much to lose--figuratively and literally.

At the time of publication, WatchDox is not a client of and has no business relationship with Lee Badman.