Vodafone’s five-year deal with BAE Systems will see its range of smartphone and mobile security products expand
Vodafone has signed a five-year partnership with defence company BAE Systems which will see it provide the operator with a range of tablet and smartphone security products.
UK-based BAE, one of the world’s largest defence, aerospace and security companies, also announced it intends to select Vodafone as its preferred supplier of mobile communications worldwide, excluding the US.
Vodafone said the partnership was part of its efforts to extend its commitment to provide its global enterprise customers with the most advanced and robust security products and services available.
The first product to emerge from the alliance will be cloud-based mobile security solution, Vodafone Mobile Threat Manager, expected to go on sale in the spring, initially to Vodafone’s largest 1,500 global enterprise customers.
The solution will work across all networks, scanning traffic to and from a company’s mobile devices in order to safeguard against malicious attacks and block inappropriate content, without impacting on device performance.
Vodafone will provide services to BAE Systems’ 35,000 UK employees from July 2013, with a view to expanding these services across its global workforce over the term of the contract.
The operator is also discussing the supply of Unified Communications to BAE Systems in the UK, a statement on its website said.
BAE Systems CEO Ian King said: “This partnership is unique, not only in bringing together a defence and security player with a major communications provider, but also in its ability to help global enterprises realise their ambitions around leveraging the future of communications technologies in a secure manner.”
