In this age of digital transformation, flexible working models and mobile business processes, the use of smartphones, tablets, notebooks and other mobile devices in the workplace has exploded. Although a more mobile workforce delivers undeniable benefits in terms of efficiency, productivity and agility, it also poses some serious challenges.
Every organisation needs to find smarter ways to secure and manage numerous devices in its environment, whether they are owned by employees or the company. That’s where cutting edge mobile device management (MDM) solutions and practices have an essential part to play. Here’s our guide to the basics:
What is MDM?
MDM is a set of smarter processes and tools that IT administrators use to monitor, manage, and secure mobile devices used by the company’s workforce—whether these are corporate-owned, personally enabled (COPE) or bring your own device (BYOD – owned by the employee).
MDM can help to manage laptops, smartphones, tablets and other mobile hardware and usually includes functionality for the management of software apps, hardware inventory, policy and security as well as for configuration and deployment of devices. Some of the key features in a cutting edge MDM solution include:
- Zero-touch deployment and remote configuration, ensuring that devices are set up according to organisational standards;
- Security measures like device encryption, password policies, remote lock and wipe capabilities;
- App management, including installation, updating, and removal of apps on devices;
- Distribution and management of documents, files, and other content to mobile devices;
- Compliance reports and alerts;
- Remote troubleshooting tools to reduce the need for physical device handling;
- Hardware inventory management; and
- App whitelisting and blacklisting.
What are the benefits of MDM?
Streamlined IT administration: Cutting edge MDM solutions enable the IT team to automate many processes related to management of mobile devices, saving them time and effort. Features such as zero-touch deployment and over-the-air software updates save IT administrators from hours of manual work.
Enhanced risk management and compliance: MDM helps companies to simplify security and compliance with data protection regulations. It enables them to enforce security policies across the workforce and protect company information on mobile devices. This vastly reduces the risks of data leaks or breaches, and of non-compliance with regulations.
Higher productivity: With MDM, companies can get new recruits onboarded fast with zero-touch deployment. Remote management, meanwhile, helps the IT team to rapidly troubleshoot and correct issues when end-users need support.
Better end-user experience: MDM supports employee choice and convenience by enabling companies to roll out secure BYOD ownership models. It also ensures end-users have seamless access to the company data and applications they need to get their jobs done. Containerisation gives them the peace of mind of knowing their personal data is private.
Enabler for smarter ways of working: Companies that want to accelerate digital transformation will leverage MDM to support a more agile workforce as part of their digitalisation strategy.
Save money: MDM can lead to significant cost savings for organisations by helping them optimise mobile plans, manage device lifecycles, and reduce the risk of security incidents,
The knowledgeable team at 1Nebula has helped many leading enterprises to implement smarter ways of managing their cloud operations and mobile workforce. We have deep expertise in MDM, FinOps, DevOps and digital transformation. Get in touch to learn how we can help you accelerate your growth and simplify operations.