14 DAY TRIAL // Windows Phone is definitely on the rise, we’ve said that numerous times in the last couple of weeks, and now here is some more proof that Microsoft’s platform sees increased adoption from business customers.
It appears that the UK police has recently decided that BlackBerry devices are not enough for their needs anymore and instead of choosing Android or iOS (is this even possible?), they believe Windows Phone would be the perfect replacement.
ComputerworldUK reports that Cambridgeshire Constabulary has already made its plan to switch from BlackBerry smartphones to Windows Phone platform public.
According to the cited source, the UK police plans to supply its employers with no less than 8,000 Windows Phone handsets in the next couple of months.
It appears that the decision to switch to Windows Phone was made right after Microsoft’s announcement at BUILD 2014 developer conference.
The new Windows Phone 8.1 operating system seems to appeal to more and more business customers and the Cambridgeshire Constabulary is one of the many that decided to move from another mobile platform to Windows Phone.
“I do see as a viable proposition now. That is why we have been slow to progress our mobility roll-out from a smartphone handset perspective in the same way we have rolled out slates and laptops,” said Ian Bell, head of ITC at Cambridgeshire Constabulary.
“The security hasn’t been right [with Windows Phone in the past], but it absolutely is now. Mobile device management providers have worked their socks off to be ready for 8.1 Phone release, and with the new encryption and new application VPN, it makes this platform become viable from a public sector perspective, while it probably never had been in the past. It is enterprise-ready as far as we are concerned.”
The Cambridgeshire Constabulary doesn’t plan to purchase 8,000 of the cheapest Windows Phone 8.1 handsets. Instead, it will supply its frontline staff with Nokia Lumia 1520 phablets, while executives will be given Lumia 930 smartphones.
Lots of Nokia Lumia 635 will be purchased by the end of the year and Cambridgeshire Constabulary officials have also confirmed that they are taking into consideration getting some Lenovo devices as well.
“We have chosen to move away from Blackberry, primarily for the user experience - we want our cops to have flexibility in their working life. From an enterprise device management perspective Blackberry Enterprise Server works great, but the devices are crumbling around us,” concluded Bell.