Lenovo strikes deal with Esper to distribute enterprise devices running on Android

Lenovo has announced a new reseller agreement with Esper that will see the tech giant distribute a range of devices running enterprise-grade Android and dedicated device management. 

Esper specializes in software deployment and device management, with the firm’s Foundation platform enabling DevOps practices for devices running the Android operating system.

As part of the deal, Lenovo will sell its Android-supporting devices with Esper Device Management, allowing users to remotely deploy, manage, monitor, and update devices from a central hub,

The collaboration will also see four Lenovo desktop machines shipped pre-loaded with the Esper Foundation custom Android OS. 

In an announcement, Lenovo said the new partnership, which was facilitated by its OEM Solutions business, will benefit customers in the retail, hospitality, and healthcare sectors. 

“Dedicated devices are proliferating across several key industries, and our new joint solution with Esper allows us to deliver the best of Android with the consistency and predictability of Lenovo’s x86 devices,” said Johanny Payero, director of global advanced solutions marketing and strategy at Lenovo. 

“We are focused on giving customers the ability to deploy devices quickly, remotely managing those devices in the field, and continuously releasing software updates to those devices to deliver exceptional experiences.”

As Android becomes increasingly popular across the enterprise, customers now have the option to build their ThinkCentre M70a desktop PCs with the operating system.

Lenovo’s ThinkCentre M70a 3rd Gen desktop PC will be the first of four x86 platforms to run Esper Foundation for Android, which includes enterprise-ready Android 11 with customizable branding, peripheral compatibility, and quarterly security patches. 

The platform also comes complete with a minimum of three years support, Esper Seamless provisioning, as well as app and system crash notifications.

The ThinkCentre M70q, M90n-1 IoT, and the ThinkEdge SE30 v2 are also slated for the end of the year and will round off the quartet of x86 offerings.

Esper COO and co-founder, Shiv Sundar, said the combination will provide customers with a robust Android operating system that is purpose-built for dedicated device use cases. 

“Customers globally are seeing significant value in running mission-critical operations on Android tablets and now they’re going to benefit from Lenovo’s world-class x86 devices and form factors,” he said. 

“Ultimately, with Lenovo, we’re seeing Esper customers moving fast, innovating, and delivering delightful customer experiences.”