Android for Work announced, Samsung Knox rolled into the effort

We’ve long heard reports that Google is interested in expanding its enterprise capabilities with Android L Release. At I/O 2014 Google confirmed that this is the case, formally introducing Android for Work. Android for Work consists of new APIs that are designed to separate work from play.

If this sounds at all familiar, that’s because we’ve seen this before with solutions like Samsung Knox. In fact, Android for Work is actually derived from Samsung Knox, with some Google magic thrown on top! Yes, really. Samsung has contributed all of its work on Knox to Android for Work, and Google is opening up the universal Android enterprise features to other Android OEMs including Motorola, LG, Sony and HTC. Initially the platform will only work with Android L release devices, though Google says that eventually all devices with Ice Cream Sandwich or higher will be supported.

That’s not the only move Google is making in order to prepare Android for enterprise in a bigger way. Google has also announced it will allow native Office editing inside its Google Docs suite. Another great move is the introduction of unlimited storage for businesses, which will set companies back $10 a month per user.