Earlier this month, Good Technology launched its Windows 8.1 version of Good for Enterprise.

Good's chief mobility analyst Brian Reed told iTWire that demand for Windows 8 support from the company's customers varies by geography.

The US has an "obsession" with iOS and Android, he said, whereas demand for Windows 8 support was strong in Europe.

He suggested that this was because European IT departments have retained more control over device selection than their colleagues in the US have managed, and there is also a history of supporting a wider range of mobile platforms such as Symbian.

In our part of the world, Good has seen "some interest [in Windows 8 support] in Australia and New Zealand," he said.

He also observed a general trend for Windows-centric IT departments to "cheerlead" Windows 8.

Windows 8 is "a pretty compelling experience, especially for a corporate-owned device," Mr Reed observed.

An advantage of container technology such as Good's, he said, is that it allows organisations to develop a corporate app just once as it is "insulated from the device layer" and therefore can be used by employees on a broad range of device types and operating system versions.

Good's container technology also takes care of various security issues without the app developer having to address them explicitly, Mr Reed explained.

In related news, Good this week announced its acquisition of mobile cloud application service provider Macheen.

This will help Good provide embedded corporate data plan support, broaden the company's carrier relationships, and allow data usage costs to be ascribed to the apps using that data.