Mobile device management must take in the whole system

Stuart Cordingley wonders which mobile offerings will support most customer needs

I am being asked more and more about the importance of mobile device management (MDM). With more staff bringing and using their own mobile devices in the workplace across every industry, it seems that managing mobile devices is a hot topic.

True MDM software secures, monitors, manages and supports devices deployed across mobile operators, service providers and enterprises, typically including over-the-air distribution of applications, data and configuration settings for all types of mobile devices, not just mobile phones and laptops but tablets and printers. The ability to use MDM across company-owned and employee-owned devices throughout the business is key.

Due to the volume of data put on mobile devices, enterprises are developing their own applications to support users. As mobile devices continue to displace traditional PCs, enterprises will look to their existing MDM systems to support more devices, enterprise applications and data.

MDM vendors are moving beyond security to support enterprise and third-party applications, data, and content – in other words, mobile document management systems. The next two years will see more MDM platforms widening their remit to become enterprise mobile management system (EMMS) platforms, going beyond the devices themselves.

My customers have raised MDM as something they are looking to understand further and pursue, so I have been keen to understand the options for them, such as Microsoft InTune and Airwatch.

The question is, what percentage of the market is ready for MDM? It has become clear to me that MDM selection requires a thorough understanding of why a company wishes to use MDM.

The real discovery I have made is that there does not appear to be one all-encompassing system so I wonder which vendor is going to fill the gap?

In my experience, various verticals are starting to embrace MDM, including financial services, healthcare, retail and telecoms. Consumerisation is prompting organisations to embrace a range of new mobile devices.

This means increased demand for device-agnostic and OS-agnostic management and security platforms. There will be multiple benefits for resellers in the MDM space, who will be required to provide technologies that cover all kinds of mobile devices.

For those organisations with employees out on the road, a web-based system that enables the IT department to manage, support and secure devices including Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, iOS, Android and Symbian – regardless of OS, carrier, network or location – will suit. If they also need to manage desktops and laptops, though, there could be a problem.

For companies with an in-house exchange system already, the solution is obvious. However, those using hosted Exchange services (including Office 365) or another messaging platform altogether might find they are unable to take advantage of certain mobile management capabilities.

Companies need an all-encompassing system that can manage PCs, laptops, and all mobile devices across all OSes, as well as EMMS platforms.

Stuart Cordingley is head of channel at Fusion Mobile