5 Reasons Mobile Device Management is Now More Important Than Ever

Learn 5 reasons why mobile device management is more important than ever. In addition to security and management, MDM offers new ways to improve your operations – from onboarding staff to replacing legacy management tools.

Discover 5 reasons why MDM is now more important than ever. It’s not just about managing devices; it can transform your business processes.

Mobile device management, or MDM, has been front of mind with IT managers for years. Traditionally, the level of MDM uptake has been driven by the technological maturity and capability of the organisation. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the relevance of MDM has soared as organisations look to securely enable mobile devices for remote working. The prioritisation has changed and MDM uptake is now far more aggressive.

A significant advantage of MDM is the ability to manage all devices, not just mobile devices, and regain the control that can often be lost with BYOD environments.

In this blog we will take a look at five reasons why an effective mobile device management system is more important than ever.

1. BYOD is growing strong. More devices are being used outside of the network border, and the high level of emergency rollout of personal devices due to COVID-19 means traditional technology such as Active Directory and policy management are not as effective as they have historically been. MDM makes BYOD manageable. Corporate data segmentation is also important, yet not that well known. MDM can provide a level of security for accessing corporate data without being overly controlling to the end user.
2. New devices are joining the network. Devices never previously connected to the company network are now being used for work. Having visibility into devices connected to the network is vital for security, and MDM enables this.
3. MDM has wider business benefits. Some of the lesser-known business benefits of MDM include geolocation tracking, automatic device provisioning and contactless device lifecycle management. With MDM for device provisioning, you can go straight from the OEM to the end user and skip the IT team as the enrolment process handles the rest. MDM also offers a decentralised provisioning model.
4. Modern MDM supersedes legacy mobile device management tools. The “modern management” concept has now hit a point of maturity, and can integrate previously disparate services for AD and group policy settings. MDM has matured over the past few years and surpasses old-school management technology. It’s widely considered the way to move forward.
5. MDM streamlines onboarding. MDM is becoming critical to onboarding and can streamline the entire process. With MDM, device lifecycle management can be completely contactless. For example, a new staff member can receive a new device and with access to the network the MDM can perform the identity suite integration, access controls, and apply the correct policies. Applications can be deployed to staff who need them through mobile application management (MAM), which provides control across the entire stack including the operating system, database, middleware and the application.

Tackle MDM challenges with a Managed Service Provider

Deploying and managing MDM is often complex using a mobile device management platform. Organisations will gain immediate benefits from an MSP model, which delivers MDM as a service.

Where MDM usually becomes problematic is during the transition of a staff member to the new technology.

The MSP delivery model takes away all the complexity of product selection and deployment, with the industry experience and capability to recommend the right mobile device management architecture based on specific business requirements.

User experience is also front and centre to an MSP’s business model, which is vital for MDM success.

Organisations that work with the right mobile device management service providers will not only streamline their device deployment and management process, but also experience the far-reaching benefits of safe, secure and intuitive connectivity.