Acronis Advances Secure BYOD with mobilEcho® 4.5, Including Free, In-App Office Document Editing

Woburn, Mass. - September 17, 2013 - Acronis®, a leading provider of data protection solutions, today announced the launch of mobilEcho® 4.5, the latest release of its market-leading mobile file management (MFM) solution, now including free, in-app editing tools for Microsoft® Office documents; military-grade, certified encryption; and other security and ease-of use improvements. mobilEcho enables enterprises to drastically improve mobile users' productivity, while maintaining complete control over data security and compliance. Even though organizations are able to securely access their information through a PC or a Mac, this is not the case when using a mobile device. mobilEcho integrates with Active Directory to extend control of information to mobile devices.

According to Intel®, 82 percent of companies today allow employees to use personal devices at work. However, Acronis' 2013 Data Protection Trends Research found that 60 percent have no personal device policy in place, and, of those that do, 25 percent still make exceptions for executives. This shows that companies are increasingly vulnerable to bring-your-own-device (BYOD) risks and may be jeopardizing their data, exposing it to leakage, theft, corruption, malware and more. With mobilEcho 4.5, corporate data never has to leave the security of the app, even when editing Microsoft Office documents, thereby creating a secure, compliant, and controlled mobile work experience.

mobilEcho complements mobile device management (MDM) vendors' basic file access solutions, providing complete security and control of corporate information on mobile devices while, at the same time, giving end users all the necessary tools to maintain productivity. For example, MDM and most MFM solutions do not include a built-in Office editor, forcing customers to purchase separate, potentially insecure apps that could compromise the integrity of sensitive data. Many of these other, third-party apps store data in a public cloud, which, without proper security or encryption, puts critical data even further at risk. mobilEcho, on the other hand, provides the ability to manage files in one secure, corporate IT-managed location.

"We want to rewrite the rules of handling secure data," said Anders Lofgren, VP of product management at Acronis. "By turning mobile devices into true business platforms, we can let users seamlessly access and edit documents, while maintaining a high level of security. That way, enterprise employees can continue to work efficiently using mobilEcho, while the corporation's critical data assets remain completely protected."

"The MobileIron® AppConnect partner ecosystem gives our customers access to the best apps in the industry for their Mobile First initiatives," said Ojas Rege, VP Strategy, MobileIron. "Acronis mobilEcho has always been very popular with our customers and its new editing capabilities will make end users more productive while still delivering enterprise-grade security."

"The strategic value of mobility is recognized by all major companies, but the security of applications and documents being shared by employees remains a major concern for business and IT leaders," according to Stacy Crook, program manager, mobile enterprise research, IDC. "The ability to access and edit Office documents in a secure environment allows enterprises to take advantage of today's mobile movement without risking data protection priorities."