MDM, better known as Mobile Device Management, is becoming more and more important as we embrace smartphones and portable devices like laptops, iPhones, Androids, iPads and tablets in the workplace (BYOD). Here’s the snag… Managing and monitoring the devices and the business critical data they can have access to. Since Bring Your Own Device, BYOD, is inherently unsecure from a business networking standpoint we need to secure corporate data and access while still allowing employees the freedom to use their own favorite mobile device.
This is exactly why Mobile Device Management is used.
There are only a couple of ways to handle this. Currently, the most secure, available and cost-effective way is to use MDM. MDM allows a central server, managed by your IT provider, to monitor a devices health and location in real-time. The service can also update software and even wipe the device if it becomes lost or stolen. From a corporate policy standpoint it can prevent your users from gaining access to business applications and data over unsecure Wi-Fi i.e., free Hot Spots. Preventing unwelcome access to your business network. FYI, hackers prey upon people using free hot spots. The alternative to MDM is to not allow mobile devices to access business data at all, that means email too. Hard pill to swallow, right?
Many providers use a method to help clients protect and manage all their devices and we encourage you to do the same regardless of your company size.
We are a society that lives and breathes technology. Technology is getting smaller and more convenient but this means that we are also opening ourselves up to more risk, using MDM will mitigate that risk and reduce corporate costs.
There are other options aside from MDM that are being developed but they are either still in beta or far too expensive to deploy to the SMB. We will be sure to stay on this topic and keep you updated!
