Google Rolls Out Android For Work Tools In a Bid To Make It More Business-Focused

Google has rolled out a slew of mobile-productivity tools called Android for Work, in a bid to make it more business focused. The new service will let users carve out work-only applications and services on smartphone, keeping them separate from personal apps, Google said.

Bringing more business-focused features to the Android could also be an effort from Google to woo customers away from Apple Inc's rival devices.

Android for Work tools can be managed by company's information technology departments. These also attach a special icons to software.

The Android for Work service aims to capitalize on the growing trend of employees bringing their own devices to work, which can lead to security challenges for businesses, Livemint noted.

"Android is the right solution and the right platform to bring mobility to work," said Rajen Sheth, a Google director of product management, at a briefing on Wednesday in San Francisco. The new feature "gives the user a great experience on the phone, but then it actually makes it very, very secure."

Notably, Apple last year struck a partnership with International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), a move to reach more business customers for Apple's iOS-based devices and apps through IBM's corporate sales force.