Google officially launches Android for Work to make enterprise push

Google has announced today the official launch of an initiative called Android for Work. Through the program, Google has teamed up with several partners to integrate enterprise-level security into the Android platform.

Google originally announced and previewed Android for Work back in 2014 at Google I/O. The main idea behind the program is to allow workers to use their personal phones for work tasks, but keep work and personal content and data separate. Google gave the following breakdown of what users can expect from the initiative:

• Work profiles – We've built on the default encryption, enhanced SELinux security enforcement and multi-user support in Android 5.0, Lollipop to create a dedicated work profile that isolates and protects work data. IT can deploy approved work apps right alongside their users' personal apps knowing their sensitive data remains secured. People can use their personal apps knowing their employer only manages work data and won't erase or view their personal content.
• Android for Work app – For devices running Ice Cream Sandwich through Kitkat, or that don't run work profiles natively, we've created the Android for Work app. The app, which delivers secure mail, calendar, contacts, documents, browsing and access to approved work apps, can be completely managed by IT.
• Google Play for Work – Google Play for Work allows businesses to securely deploy and manage apps across all users running Android for Work, simplifying the process of distributing apps to employees and ensuring that IT approves every deployed app.
• Built-in productivity tools – For everyday business tasks, we've created a suite of business apps for email, contacts and calendar, which supports both Exchange and Notes and provides document editing capabilities for documents, spreadsheets and presentations.

To make all of this work, Google has teamed up with a large number of industry partners such as Citrix, Adobe, Samsung, BlackBerry, Cisco, and many, many more. Google says these partnerships have allowed it to create a set of APIs to bring easier management of Android devices to IT departments, as well as create secure business apps and more secure devices.

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Google's Sundar Pichai talks Google Wallet, China, and Google+ in new interview

One of the more interesting tidbits to come out of the interview were Pichai's comments on Google Wallet, particularly amid recent rumors that the Google may be gearing up to launch a new payments API called Android Pay at this year's I/O developer conference:

For people who use Google Wallet, the experience works. [The question is] how do you get Google Wallet present and how do you get all the point of sale terminals and the end-of-end ecosystem, the banks, the issuers. For me there's been a lot of progress in the last few months. I'm very excited with our road map there. Stay tuned. We definitely expect to make important advances in this area.

When asked about how Google is looking to leverage Android in China, a country which has historically been hard for the company to penetrate with its services, Pichai was vague, but said that the country presents a huge opportunity going forward:

We have seen a lot of interest from Chinese developers on Google Play, because the extent to which Android is used. We see those as opportunities ahead. If we can figure out a model by which we can serve those users, it would be a privilege to do so. So I don't think of China as a black hole. I see it as a huge opportunity in which we are playing as an enabling platform today and hopefully we have a chance to offer other services in the future.

Finally, while Google has already begun to separate Google+'s features into separate services with Hangouts and Photos, Pichai hinted that we may see an increased push to break them out further in the future:

I think increasingly you'll see us focus on communications [Hangouts], photos and the Google+ stream as three important areas, rather than being thought of as one area.

The full interview is a pretty good read, as Pichai touches on a number of other subjects including Google's relationship with Apple, as well as its vision of Android as a platform for innovation.

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