US smartphone management application developer MobileIron has announced that it's European HQ has been officially opened in the Netherlands. The offices will be headed up by Vice President and General Manager for EMEA, Kees van Veenendaal.

"We've been quietly selling in Europe for the last six months," says CEO Bob Tinker. "But the customer demand and activity has accelerated to the point where it makes sense for us to open a dedicated European office."

MobileIron is actively seeking new channel partners for its Virtual Smartphone platform, Tinker says, which is designed to help businesses manage a diverse portfolio of mobile handsets and operating systems.

The software works on Windows Mobile, iPhone, Blackberry and Symbian platforms, with an Android release planned for later in the year. It provides security features such as remote wiping of business data, and can help manage costs by realtime monitoring of traffic and GPS data. In addition, MobileIron can provide an enterprise 'app store', enabling employees to provide their own handsets if they prefer and still have access to essential programs.

"The industry so far has missed an opportunity to add a lot of value," says Tinker. "The enterprise needs to manage, secure and optimise the data on a smartphone, rather than the device itself. That creates a lot of really interesting service opportunities for the channel."

MobileIron is currently available in the UK through Cloud Distribution.