Looks like workers are ahead in the BYOD battle. And companies like McLean, Va.’s SpydrSafe are finding ways to profit from it.
FED TECH BISNOW January 20, 2012
The startup, which announced an investment from Amplifier Ventures this week, is creating a way for any employee to secure work-related data that they access on their own Android devices. Work-related apps such as e-mail and file storage will not be able to interact with personal apps like Facebook. It’s due for a beta release at the end of Q1. CEO Michael Pratt, here demoing the product, recently transitioned from Card Star COO after its sale to Constant Contact. We think he’s earned the “serial entrepreneur” title.
SpydrSafe CTO Kevin Sapp says the product will also prevent employers from wiping clean personal Android devices that departing employees used for work purposes. (Somewhere there’s a cyber landfill of baby photos.) Kevin, who came from McAfee (an Intel company), says the SpydrSafe product will go beyond mobile device management, which simply locks down the device. So users will be able to download the SpydrSafe app onto their Android device. The employer’s IT guru will be able to manage controls like passwords and rules on what apps can interact through a cloud-based management console. The team is trying to make the product as breezy to use as possible.
SpydrSafe, launched in November and is working out of the infamous Teqcorner. The real estate project has given birth to scores of startups that eventually left when they needed more space and had the cash to pay for it. SpydrSafe is in the midst of a $500K raise, which will be used to hire more developers. The company will target regulatory heavy industries like health care and financial with its product, and then eventually expand to more enterprises and possibly the federal government. Michael says analysts peg the market worth at $3B.
http://www.bisnow.com/washington_dc_tech_news_story.php?p=20564
