InterNoded will upgrade its flagship Mobile Device Manager to version 4.0 next week, adding major features for security application deployment, CEO Julie Palen said.

The system performs backend functions such as load balancing, along with end-user functions such as a self-service portal. In version 4.0, administrators get a security feature called Inspector, which is a client program that captures a device’s entire history, such as technical attributes, user actions performed and software changes. That data is frequently updated to the server for reports, policy compliance and to assist help-desk workers when users need support.

“It’s feeding back into our system.  The value of that is that now, when I place a call to the help desk, the help desk has insight into that device as if they’re looking at it … everything that you’d see if you went into a BlackBerry and clicked options – advanced,” Palen explained. There is also a new feature for automatically deploying upgrades based on policy changes, she said.

InterNoded originally developed its software earlier in the decade for internal use as a managed services provider with a specialty in wireless devices – “We learned that you can’t get 2,000 users on a BlackBerry Enterprise Server no matter what RIM would like you to believe,” Palen said.  It became a stand-alone product in 2006, with the modern version supporting servers from Microsoft and Motorola’s Good Technology as well Research In Motion (RIM).

A version for supporting the Apple iPhone is being developed, to be followed by features later this year or in 2009 that evolve the policy controls from mere monitoring into proactive actions. Another new option will give users opt-in methods, Palen said.

Version 4.0 requires Microsoft Internet Information Server and SQL Server. The price starts on a monthly base of $2.50-$5 per user.