Mobility in business started with the era of laptops, which unprecedentedly displaced desktop units. The year 2020 began with an increased demand for mobile devices. Not only in business, but also at home, which has become the workplace for most of us.
Currently, there are more than four times as many cell phones sold worldwide as computers. At the end of 2022, 301 million smartphones were shipped to global markets. In the same period we bought only 68.2 million computers. Cell phones are undeniably the leading tool for conducting business, carrying millions of pieces of information that need to be secured.
Mobility has become a challenge not only for large companies that manage multiple types of devices (desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones, rugged devices, or wearables). It’s an essential issue for smaller players whose employees use their devices in a BYOD model. Organizations are also increasingly moving their infrastructure to the cloud (Eurostat: 2016 – 19% of EU companies, 2021 – 42% of EU companies), giving employees access to applications, data, or resources from anywhere and on any device. This has given companies not only greater mobility but also flexibility.
Unfortunately, along with the undoubted benefits, a greater number of cyber threats have also emerged. This has definitely expanded the responsibilities associated with device management. These challenges make the implementation of mobile device management (MDM) solutions critical for any enterprise, organization, or even small business today.
What tasks does the MDM system perform?
MDM is a tool for managing mobile devices. In its expanded version, it is known as EMM, an enterprise mobility management system. Its most enhanced form is UEM, or unified endpoint management.
Each of these solutions is designed to apply a consistent configuration to corporate devices. This ensures that all users get the same tools to work with, the IT team resolves issues faster and provides better support, and the organization gains security.
In three words: MDM simplifies, streamlines and secures the daily work of administrators and users.
To deploy a policy to a device, an MDM agent and a configured MDM server are used, either in an on-premise or cloud-based version. Initial settings and updates are delivered remotely to the device and can be enforced, eliminating the need for user intervention. In this way, the first time a business device is deployed, an employee can be required to set a password according to our guidelines, or the ability to download specific applications, such as those for social media, can be restricted.
What benefits can you expect from implementing an MDM solution?
Simplified management and improved efficiency
Managing a fleet of ten of the same devices, on which no additional applications or security features need to be installed, seems quite simple. However, managing the same number of devices in a situation where each device is different – they are dispersed all over the country, require the installation of several company applications, and have different ownership statuses – can be a challenge. It’s worth taking it further and imagining managing a hundred such devices, a thousand, and so on.
Every organization should have remote and easy access to:
- their devices and their location,
- data that is processed on them,
- security reports,
- device and application configuration,
- or at least remote support,
which, without an expanded IT team, is only possible with the help of a centrally managed MDM system.
Cost reduction
The MDM platform reduces the time and effort IT staff spend administering company devices. Automating many time-consuming processes related to monitoring or updates frees up human resources that can be engaged in more advanced and creative projects, such as implementing artificial intelligence. On the other hand, MDM allows a smaller team to handle the growing number of devices, a team that will not need to be expanded.
Applying appropriate policies in Device Owner mode allows you to turn off data transmission while roaming altogether. It is also possible to impose a policy on selected applications that prohibits the use of data when entering or leaving a specific area – for example, a particular country or EU zone. Thus, the company gains a tool to secure its resources against accidental or unwanted data downloads in places where the cost of 1GB transmission can be quite a surprise.
Check out the capabilities of the Proget solution.
BYOD support
Bring Your Own Device is an increasingly popular management model in organizations. It’s more affordable for the company because it doesn’t require buying a wide range of devices and paying for telecommunications services. It allows each employee to work on the equipment that suits them best. They also don’t have to carry two smartphones throughout the day.
A vital feature of the MDM system in securing sensitive corporate data on personal devices is support for BYOD. It allows company data and applications to be isolated from the private zone, protecting against attacks and risky or even unintentional actions by users that could damage the organization.
The ability to divide the device space into a Work Profile and a Personal Profile means that companies don’t have to choose between security and freedom of employees.
Application management
The MDM console allows secure distribution of applications, whether from a managed app store, a file, or an official store (Google Play, App Store). In such a solution, starting with preparing a list of allowed applications and blocking those we don’t want to give our employees access to, the system administrator can also maintain the latest version of company applications. The system makes it possible to determine the method of updating so as not to expose the company to excessive consumption of data transmission. What’s more, it enables you to impose automatic updates of company applications to the latest version – regardless of whether a tariff connection is currently selected on the device.
Security and compliance
Remote management, automation, control or implementation of security policies undoubtedly enhance the security of any organization. An administrator can monitor, update and troubleshoot a device in real time. A good MDM can remotely lock or wipe a device if it is lost or stolen. These features make MDM an invaluable tool for meeting compliance and regulatory requirements for such things as: GDPR, ISO/IEC 27001 or SOC 2.