Leading virtualization firms Citrix and VMware both unveiled enterprise mobility platforms this week to help enterprises securely deal with the influx of personally owned mobile devices into the workplace.

Citrix launched a new mobile device management (MDM) offering based on its Zenprise acquisition, which Citrix closed at the beginning of January.

With XenMobile MDM, users can self-service enroll their devices and IT can provision policies and apps to large groups of devices automatically. IT can blacklist or whitelist apps, detect and protect against jailbroken devices, and wipe or selectively wipe a device that is lost, stolen or out of compliance.

The XenMobile MDM supports Android, iOS, Windows and BlackBerry mobile operating systems and devices.

In addition to XenMobile MDM, Citrix unveiled a mobile products bundle for enterprise mobility management.

Amit Pandey, group vice president and general manager of mobile platforms at Citrix, toldFierceMobileIT that the mobile product bundle includes the XenMobile MDM product; secure email, browser and data sharing apps; containers for security and control of mobile apps; a unified enterprise app store; and identity management and access control products.

Pandey said that virtualization remains a core part of Citrix’s EMM offerings; for example the unified app store is based in its virtualization technology. “When you go to your Springboard on your iPad or iPhone, not only can you get third-part apps … but you can also get your desktop apps … Through our virtualization technology, we are able to bring that to mobile for you,” he explained.

In addition, the mobile app security area relies on virtualization technology. “When you combine virtualization with our MDM solution, our mobile offering becomes extremely powerful,” Pandey said.

Not to be outdone, VMware launched this week its Horizon Workspace platform as well as updates to its Horizon View and Horizon Mirage products. Last year, VMware unveiled its Horizon Suite of desktop virtualization products designed to help IT administrators manage worker mobility and the BYOD trend.

With the Horizon Workspace, IT administrators will be able to allocate data, apps or desktops to end users or groups instead of devices, improving BYOD security.

Virtualization and mobile computing will increasingly converge as IT administrators look for ways to accommodate the flood of mobile devices while ensuring the security of corporate data. Expect more enterprise mobility products from other virtualization firms.

For more:
– see Citrix release
– check out VMware’s release