Using Exchange ActiveSync

As discussed earlier in the book, one of the most interesting developments in the mobile industry over the last few years has been the industry-wide standardization on Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) for both server-side and mobile device communication and collaboration data synchronization.

In addition to providing push synchronization of mail, calendar, and contacts to iOS devices, EAS also provides the ability to enforce security policies as well as remotely wipe devices if they are lost or stolen. Although EAS does not offer as many features or capabilities as Apple's MDM APIs, EAS may provide enough features for some organizations to be comfortable with the security of iOS.

Enforcing Policies

When a policy is applied to Exchange ActiveSync, users will be forced to comply with the policy or they will be unable to connect their devices to sync with the Exchange server. In some cases, like requiring a passcode or establishing a specific passcode complexity requirement, users will be prompted to configure their devices accordingly. Other policies, like requiring device encryption, are completely dependent on the device hardware (and in that specific case will allow only iOS devices with hardware-based encryption to connect, which includes all iPads and iPhone 3GS and newer but not older iOS devices).