With the proliferation of mobile devices (like laptops, smartphones, and tablets) in the workplace, it has become more important than ever to be able to remotely and securely manage these devices. That’s where mobile device management (MDM) comes in.
You may have heard of mobile device management (MDM), but may not fully understand what it does and the role it plays in keeping your organization's sensitive information safe.
In this article, we'll explain what MDM is, what it does, and its key benefits. We'll also provide guidelines for choosing the right MDM platform for your business, along with recent industry trends.
We write articles like this to provide useful information to help busy business owners like you make the best IT decisions for your organization.
After reading this article, you’ll have all the information you need to decide whether MDM would be a good solution for your organization.
What Is MDM?
MDM is software that allows your mobile devices to be remotely configured, managed, and secured. MDM is primarily used to ensure the health and security of the mobile devices connecting to your network.
This can significantly mitigate cyber risks and ensure that your data stays safe.
In the event of a potential cyber incident, data breach, or cyberthreat, an MDM can be used to lock down affected mobile devices until your IT team or managed IT service provider (MSP) can assess the issue and eliminate the threat or correct the vulnerability.
What Are The Benefits Of MDM?
With the widespread adoption of hybrid work models, MDM has several distinct advantages. Here are some of its key benefits:
1. Provide Access To Specific Applications
MDM offers the flexibility of customized configurations. If, for example, your organization has a fleet of iPads designated for customer use, MDM allows you to make only specific applications accessible on that device and to block everything else.
Or, the devices can be configured using MDM to only perform work-related activities.
2. Enforce Security Protocols
With MDM, you can establish specific security guardrails to keep devices (and data) safe, such as requiring complex passwords.
By serving as a centralized platform for your IT administrators, an MDM ensures that the security controls you have in place are being followed across your organization, regardless of where the devices are being used to access your network.
3. Remote Wipe And Configure
Users forget their passwords regularly. Your IT administrator can easily remotely reset a user's device login credentials or force them to create a new, stronger passcode.
In addition, MDM software can be used together with multi-factor authentication (MFA) for a layered device security strategy. The MDM can verify the authentication devices, push the authenticator app used by your organization, and enforce your security policies and procedures, while the MFA performs the actual user and device verification steps.
Gone are the days of devices being assigned to one user and then being unusable once that person leaves the organization. MDM can be used to remotely wipe the device and rebuild it, making it reusable either for that user or for another user.
4. Enable Policies That Lock Down Devices
In the event a device is lost or stolen, MDM makes it possible to remotely lock down the device’s Wi-Fi capability so that it becomes useless to any unauthorized person who subsequently finds it.
As with remote wiping, IT administrators can lock down a device that is lost or stolen, rendering it unusable. This ensures that the critical data stored on it remains safe.
In addition, an MDM system allows your IT team to remotely deploy updates.
What Mobile Device Management Platforms Exist?
A variety of options exist. Some of the more prominent MDM options include Microsoft Intune, VMware AirWatch, IBM MaaS360, JAMF, and Sophos.
There are other popular offerings from smaller companies, too, such as SureMDM.
Which MDM Platforms Are Best For My Business?
The best MDM platform for your organization depends on your environment, the level of management you need, and how many devices/users you are supporting.
One caveat: all MDM platforms will claim to be a good fit for smaller organizations, but this is simply not the case. Small organizations don’t necessarily need the most expensive option with all of the bells and whistles that a larger organization may want and need.
It helps to have an idea of what you want in terms of features, but the reality is that sometimes you may not know which specific features may benefit your business the most.
At Kelser, we recommend doing your research to learn about your options. Talk to your peers to find out what they are using or ask your trusted managed IT services company to gain valuable insight on several possible solutions and their recommendations.
What Should I Consider Before Selecting An MDM Platform For My Business?
Numerous factors will contribute to your ability to find the right MDM platform for your organization. Here are some of those factors:
1. Types of Devices
Consider the types of devices deployed in your environment. Are your devices iOS? Android? Windows? A mix of these? You want to make sure you select a solution that supports all of the different types of devices you need to manage.
Do you need to manage personal devices as well as company-owned hardware?
You may have users who want or need to access work email or other company resources from their personal phone. If you have situations like this, you’ll want an MDM platform that can be customized to allow secure access to certain applications or data on your network.
2. Management Requirements
The capabilities vary from one platform to another. Do you need to just manage security policies (such as updating and patching device operating systems)? Do you need to restrict devices so they can use only certain applications or connect to certain networks?
Related Article: Ransomware Target: How Secure Is Your Virtual Private Network (VPN)?
What level of automation do you require? Do you want some options for self-service so end users can support themselves for certain things? Do you need reporting features for compliance or auditing?
3. Number Of Users/Devices
MDM plans have different pricing structures. Some prices are based on the number of users, others are dependent on the number of devices supported, and some take both users and devices into account.
Understanding the number of users and existing devices, as well as a projection of new devices that may be added will ensure that you get the right MDM solution for your business.
Will personal devices be part of the equation or strictly company-issued devices? Your policy matters when considering MDM solutions.
Related Article:
What Are Some Recent Trends In MDM?
With today's increased workforce mobility, cloud-based services have become essential in mobile device management.
Traditionally, employees have been given company-issued devices including smartphones, laptops, and tablets, which are configured for employees based on their specific job function or role.
With so many companies allowing their employees to work remotely or on a hybrid schedule, however, employees often use personal devices for work, known as BYOD (bring your own device). Because of this, businesses are increasingly relying on cloud-based services in MDM to maintain security and access controls.
Related Article: In-House Vs. Cloud-based Servers: The Pros & Cons For Business
MDM offers solutions for ensuring the security of your company data accessed on private devices. IT administrators can monitor, manage, and secure multiple endpoints from anywhere with an internet connection. This allows your IT team to support employees who are using mobile devices, whether they are working from home, in the field, or traveling.
This is not possible with on-premise solutions that require physical access to internal networks.
In addition, with steadily rising cyber threats, such as ransomware and malware, many businesses are also adopting a Zero Trust architecture. Zero Trust is a security framework built around the principle of "never trust, always verify."
ZT assumes that a cyber incident is imminent, so it treats every user, device, application, system, or other network as a potential threat. Following this principle, it requires constant identity authentication and reverification to get and maintain access to network resources.
Related Article: Why Are Businesses Moving To Zero Trust? Your Roadmap To A ZT Strategy
What’s Next?
Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) is the next generation of management tools.
While MDM has traditionally managed exclusively mobile devices, UEM can also be used to manage desktops, rugged devices (hardware designed to tolerate the harshest environments), internet of things (IoT) devices, wearables, and more.
A combination of MDM and enterprise endpoint management (EMM), UEM tools provide an easier way to manage all devices under a centralized system. It also offers more options for applying security policies and keeping devices safe from malware and cyber threats.
As a result of the increased capability, UEM solutions may be more expensive.
Some platforms offer UEM solution and are increasingly incorporating robust remediation controls along with their vulnerability scanning capabilities.
Besides UEM, Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning automation are the latest frontier for MDM. The rapidly evolving technology is being used for proactive threat mitigation and to streamline device configuration.
What’s The Bottom Line With MDM?
After reading this article, you now understand how MDM can be an effective way for organizations to manage remote devices of all types.
You also know the factors to consider when selecting an MDM platform, including the types of devices and the number of users and devices involved.
You’ve also learned about some recent trends in this technology area. After reading this article, you have all the information you need to confidently decide whether your organization could benefit from an MDM solution.
At Kelser, we include MDM solutions in our comprehensive managed IT support offerings. Because we know that managed IT support isn’t right for every organization, we believe in providing unbiased information you can use to find the best solution for you, whether we work together or not.
Check out these articles if you find yourself wondering about managed IT support, the ROI of managed IT, and the criteria to use when choosing a provider.
Or, find out why more small businesses are turning to managed IT support.
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