Enabling secure, productive work on personal devices

Databricks emphasizes enabling productive work on personal devices while safeguarding company data, noting the shift from email checks to full workflows on mobile. The company highlights challenges posed by mobile BYOD, where personal and work data coexist on unowned devices, requiring a balance between security and privacy. To address this, Databricks developed a layered security approach rather than relying on a single product, focusing on device management, authentication, zero trust, and application controls. The framework prioritizes user trust by avoiding intrusive measures like full device wipes or personal data access.

The foundational layer uses Mobile Device Management (MDM) with Account-Driven User Enrollment (ADUE) on iOS and Work Profile on Android to separate work data into an encrypted workspace. This ensures personal apps, photos, and messages remain inaccessible while allowing corporate policies to apply only to work-related components. The approach avoids full device control, preventing unnecessary restrictions on personal devices. MDM establishes a baseline but does not determine access or device trustworthiness, which are handled by subsequent layers.

Authentication and Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) work together to enforce access based on identity, device, and network signals. Strong, phishing-resistant authentication verifies user identity, while device and network checks ensure requests originate from managed, healthy devices. Work traffic is routed through a secure tunnel via per-app VPN, with continuous posture evaluations blocking compromised devices automatically. Access is denied by default unless all conditions are met, limiting network access to specific applications.

Application management ensures managed apps are installed and configured securely, with controls varying by app type. Some apps receive managed configurations via MDM, while others use enterprise features or tenant-level controls like restricting copy-paste outside the app. Databricks prioritizes apps supporting enterprise mobility controls, steering web apps through an enterprise-managed browser. Transparency and employee experience are central, with clear privacy policies communicated before enrollment to build trust and encourage participation.