Smart devices, like the mobile phones and iPads you use for business, are extensions of your company. They’re packed with corporate data and trademarked goodies and offer a juicy gateway into your whole corporate network. If they’re not secured and protected, you might as well put a welcome mat out for hackers.
This is why mobile device management (MDM) is important. Mobile devices are an essential part of how we work today, and we can’t give them up. Having a mobile fleet means you can work or hire from anywhere, including your comfy sofa or halfway up the Himalayas if reception is good. However, the best way to prevent data loss is by rounding everything up via mobile device management. Hint: secure data isn’t the only advantage.
OK, So What’s Mobile Device Management?
Mobile device management is any strategy or solution used to protect your business from the risks associated with lost, stolen, or misused mobile devices. It’s an amalgamation of policies, people, and tech that, when blended together properly, creates a fleet that’s secured and controlled from a central location.
Why Is MDM So Important For Security?
The cyberthreat landscape is a kaleidoscope of gross that’s constantly changing colors and shapes. Without MDM, it’s an almost impossible job to stay on top of these changes and keep data (and customers’ data) safe, plus managing compliance requirements to avoid fines and ugly lawsuits. From your MDM dashboard, you’ll be able to tackle macro and micro security issues for your entire mobile fleet, whether your devices are corporate or privately owned, or both. Here’s how:
Remote Lock-And-Wipe
Whoopsie! Your on-site construction team has mislaid ten corporate iPads after an awesome-yet-misguided night out with your client’s team. Luckily, that corporate data is safer than their employment contracts, as you can remotely lock those iPads to prevent unauthorized access and wipe the data if necessary. You can also use MDM to track and locate those iPads if they’re not already stripped for parts.
All The Encryption
Encryption is a super-clever MDM function that turns data into gibberish as it’s sitting on your laptop or flying between computers and turns it back into data for authorized users only. Manual encryption is boring, and your people won’t do it, but luckily you can configure MDM to automate encryption. (Look, Ma, no hands!) And when your people manage to forget their passcodes, you can access a recovery key to get your hands on that securely encrypted data.
Application Management
If your people have access to all the apps and files they need to do their jobs, they won’t be tempted to download that dodgy app that helps them do the thing they do. But even if they do try you don’t need to worry, because you can configure MDM to block access to unauthorized apps and websites. This’ll reduce your chance of a nasty infection from ransomware or other malware that often lurks behind those unauthorized apps.
MDM also makes it easy to curate a customized library of apps and files for each type of role or seniority level. This makes things less overwhelming for your people, and setting up role-specific access will make your compliance officer dance a happy jig because you’re complying with the principle of least privilege.
Security Policy Enforcement
MDM will keep your company’s devices regularly updated with the latest security features, but that’s not the best part. It’s too easy for your people to answer their device’s “Update now?” question with a disinterested, “Nope, later. Much, much later.” But enforced updates don’t offer your people this choice. They can update now, or they can get derailed from getting on with stuff. Your Acceptable Use Policy may require that your people cooperate with security issues, but enforced updating doesn’t really give them a choice. The end result is a gorgeously updated fleet with all the most recent security features and fixes. You’re welcome!
Network Access Management
Hackers love airport WiFi because it’s notorious for being insecure and open to all kinds of imaginative abuse with weird names, such as man-in-the-middle attacks, eavesdropping, address resolution protocol spoofing, and session hijacking. Unsecured WiFi won’t be a problem if your MDM has network configurations that only allow connections to named and secure networks – anything else will be deemed too risky and blocked.
Yes, But What If I’m Not Interested In Data Security?
Seriously, what’s wrong with you? But for the non-fans of data security, MDM packs a whole ton of other uses and advantages that help optimize different aspects of business, such as recruitment, budgeting, and cost control. Take a look at these for starters:
Onboarding Automation
MDM is your go-to tool for speedy and effective automated onboarding. With zero touch onboarding for corporate devices or conditional access onboarding for your BYOD policy, MDM gives new hires a great first day. Throw in role-based provisioning, and they’ll have access to the teams, files, and apps they need for their job in minutes rather than the days it can take for traditional onboarding.
Spares and Cost Management
When you enroll your fleet of devices into your MDM platform, it’s cleverly creating an IT asset inventory that’ll give you all the details for each device under a single pane of glass. You’ll know where each device is and whether it’s being used. Identifying your spares means it’s easy to re-assign them, you’ll be able to administer a realistic maintenance schedule, and you can ensure you only pay for the software licenses you’re actually using.
Troubleshooting
If your people work remotely, it can be difficult to get them the proper technical support exactly when they need it. MDM facilitates remote troubleshooting so that your helpdesk can actively solve problems quickly, with a slew of remote diagnostics plus the ability to control devices remotely and screen share.
Mobile Device Management Is Important For Pretty Much Everything
MDM is an important business asset (not a cost), and that’s why we’d be delighted to get up on our hind legs and demonstrate just how awesome MDM would be for your business. You can tell we’re its biggest fans, but with good reason – we’ve seen how much it helps our clients and makes things so, so much better. Grab a coffee and give us a ring. Here to help, folks.
Ignition is Silicon Valley’s best (and friendliest) IT security, compliance, and support team. Contact us now – chatting about IT support and cybersecurity is our favorite thing to do!