All You Wanted to Know About Android Enterprise Recommended Program

Android has a large share of handsets in the market owing to attractive handheld models and low prices. These modern Android devices are largely targeted to consumers for everyday use. But often these are not fit for business needs as they fail to address the basic enterprise standards such as minimum hardware specifications, consistent application experience, device deployment challenges and inherent security needs. It can be intimidating for businesses to choose a device that is appropriate for enterprise use.

Google launched the Android Enterprise Recommended program to help businesses counter these challenges. With this program, Google highlights the handsets which meet the guidelines and can handle the most challenging and diverse environments in businesses.

Device must haves for Android Enterprise Recommended program

Handsets running on Android 7.0+ handsets and above must have the following criteria specified by Google:

• Minimum hardware
• User interface specifications
• Mass deployment support
• Frequency of security updates
• Default set of apps
• Standardized look and feel for the work profile

Google has certified and listed these OEM devices which meet all these criteria. All the phones under this program will receive monthly security updates, within 90 days of release for at least three years. Additionally, Google will also offer training and support to the all the OEMs that participate in this program.

His move not only raises the bar for enterprise-level devices but also tackles the problem of non-uniformity created by the presence of numerous Android OS versions and international carriers. For example, fragmented OS is one of the main cause of concern for businesses as older iterations of Android OS versions are vulnerable to malware and unclassified Android threats.

Google also suggests a list of EMM vendor partners through this initiative which helps businesses to manage BYOD and corporate-owned smartphones from a single console.

42Gears is one of Android Enterprise Partners which enables businesses to remotely manage mobile devices, configure settings and regulate access to corporate apps and data on these devices for their employees.

In order to be enterprise-ready, the Android devices must have the following basic configuration:

List of Android Devices Recommended by Google for Enterprise

Here’s the list of 21 Android Devices Recommended by Google for Enterprise use and some of their features.

How Will Businesses benefit from Android Enterprise Recommended program?

Using any of the Google-approved devices as a workforce tool in business, enterprises can ensure easier management, faster and efficient deployment, better security, enhanced user experience and reduced support costs.

Google plans to use the same criteria to classify rugged devices and other devices used by enterprise mobility management providers. Overall this is a crucial step by Google to boost Android adoption rate in enterprises as a reliable workplace tool.
Interested to manage BYOD and corporate-owned devices from a single console? Sign up for a free trial.