22 March, 2023
Modern working has become a mainstay in recent years. Gone are the standard 9-to-5 working days that once you spent in the office. Today, everyone is always online, accessible everywhere and has all the important things in their pockets. As a result, managing the devices on which you and your colleagues work is becoming increasingly important. This management is known as 'Mobile Device Management' or 'MDM' for short. We would like to explain exactly what MDM entails.
What is MDM?
Mobile Device Management (MDM) is a software solution that allows you to install, manage and secure mobile devices within your company. If your organisation has more than 10 employees using smartphones or tablets, it is advisable to consider an MDM system. Otherwise, manually maintaining a large number of devices can cost a lot of time and money. MDM is applied in three stages, namely configuration (installing and issuing devices), management (uniform settings and apps for every employee) and security.
Configuration
An MDM system allows you to set up new devices quickly and simultaneously. Without having to do it manually one by one. Besides saving time, you also avoid problems with passwords when an employee leaves the company. Or, for example, having to write off a smartphone or laptop because you can no longer get into it. So configuring MDM is often one of the first and most rewarding steps of digital transformation. Setting up your MDM properly will prevent a lot of headaches.
IT management
Without MDM, employees can change device settings themselves. This can lead to problems with apps or functions. Which then costs a lot of time for your company's service desk and leaves less time for other longer-term projects. With MDM, you prevent your employees from making changes to the devices themselves and remotely install the necessary apps. As a result, all devices look the same for employees with the same role.
Security
With MDM, you keep all devices as secure as possible. You set up, for instance, that employees cannot just download all apps and files. You also ensure that all updates are automatically installed, so that security holes are quickly closed. This way, sensitive information remains within your company's digital environment. Finally, you create separate environments for work and private, to prevent backups of company data from ending up on an employee's private disk and vice versa!
How do you set up Mobile Device Management?
BYOD - Bring Your Own Device
Almost every employee has their own smartphone, tablet or laptop for private purposes. CBS figures show that 80.6% of Dutch households owned at least one laptop in 2019. And 65.9% at least one tablet. Those devices, if the employee agrees, can also be deployed for business use! BYOD offers a great solution in this case. Because your colleagues can work on the devices they are familiar with. And you also avoid the cost of buying new devices!
CYOD - Choose Your Own Device
If you don't want to blur the line between work and private life too much, you can also opt for a CYOD solution. With CYOD, you purchase the necessary mobile devices as an organisation. Often, a list of available devices is drawn up, from which employees can then choose. The old familiar laptop of the case idea.
A major advantage of CYOD is that it reduces the risk of security complications. Perhaps advisable, as personal data protection is getting tougher. With CYOD, employees have a dedicated device for their work or specific role. Their private devices then remain nice and private. Clearly separated, and therefore more secure!
COPE - Company Owned, Personally Enabled
COPE often focuses on the provision and use of smartphones. Two phones per person (one business and one personal) is unnecessary bulk in the pocket. An organisation can then provide a device to the employee that is primarily intended for business use, but can also be used for private purposes. You can of course set restrictions to ensure security, but basic functions such as voice calls, messaging and most apps are hassle-free. Even at home!
With COPE, it makes sense to keep work and private within the device separate. This can be done via 'containerisation'; as it were, two profiles within the same device. A private and a business profile between which you can easily switch.
COBO - Company Owned, Business Only
Then there is COBO. This form of MDM means that the organisation provides the device and you are not allowed to use it personally under any circumstances. This allows the organisation to set up a device in such a way that only one application, for example, can be used. Think, for example, of a back-office system, an inventory app with barcode scanner for in a warehouse or a dedicated phone for a customer service employee. Security over flexibility, as it were!
Want to know more or get started in concrete terms?
In this blog, we have briefly taken you through the value and implementation of Mobile Device Management. Have we helped you with our tips and advice? Are you considering implementing MDM? Of course we would be happy to help you further. If you would like a no-obligation sparring session or are interested in our cloud solutions and adoption approach; please feel free tocontact us at .