Log in to like this post! The Most Popular Mobile Device Management Solutions Mobile Man / Monday, June 29, 2015 Most IT departments are now aware of the need for Mobile Device Management (MDM), yet deciding which service is the right one for your company is an intimidating prospect. There is a huge range of service providers offering MDM tools for all kinds of businesses and which promise different levels of security, control, flexibility and scalability. There is a solution for every kind of business, yet hunting through the market and deciding which MDM is best for your company is far from simple. When making this decision, we recommend IT teams take some time to consider what their organization’s current mobile device usage is, and draw up a comprehensive list of the device types your colleagues are using. It’s also crucial to look forward and bear in mind that the systems which are popular today may well have changed radically in a couple of years’ time. These considerations will help make choosing your service much more simple - some MDMs for instance only offer support on Windows, Android and iOS; if many of your colleagues have Blackberry devices, their mobiles will not be covered. Questions to ask include: Do we allow BYOD or do we only want staff to use company owned devices? Which operating systems are in use at the company? Does the MDM integrate with the environment where we currently do most work (Office 365, Google Docs etc.)? What company specific extras (such as international roaming coverage) will we need? Once you have established your requirements, deciding which service provider is most suitable for you should become much easier. MDM providers typically offer a central console from where devices can be registered to the network. Once connected, the platform allows IT to manage devices on the network, define what they can and can't do and monitor their activities. Different MDMs offer different levels of control however. While each company will have their own specific needs, the following list outlines the major features of the MDM market leaders and these providers will cover the needs of most businesses - from the smallest startup to the largest corporation. MobileIron MobileIron have achieved international success thanks to their solid security credentials and the platform’s flexible integration of third party apps. As one of the major players in the MDM environment, MobileIron stands out for: Its range of MobileIron and third party apps which allow users to separate personal and work apps within their device Support on major devices and Operating systems - Android, Mac OS, iOS and Windows Phone Network management - especially useful for monitoring international roaming so as to ensure your company doesn’t get hit by unexpected roaming charges A range of policies with different levels of control for different types of companies AirWatch AirWatch have been in the MDM game for a long time and were given a real boost in 2014 when they were acquired by VMWare. This combination of experience and backing has pushed them to the top of Gartner's enterprise mobility management Magic Quadrant and they provide solid all round MDM support. Key features include: Comprehensive support for most Operating Systems and devices - including laptops, mobiles, tablets and printers Real time dashboard for monitoring device fleet Easy enrollment Apps and security restrictions pushed to the device automatically XenMobile from Citrix XenMobile claims to offer the most comprehensive, end to end security for devices, giving IT control over the device's configurations, security and support. Why use it?: Comprehensive security and management controls ‘Worx’ mobile apps; a range of apps built for business such as WorxMail or GoToMeeting which save users a lot of time and avoid the need to connect to VPNs Good Technology Being able to boast that 50 of the Fortune 100 companies use your platform must feel good for Good Technology and the security centered platform is popular for a number of reasons: Apps secured with Good Technology are able to function alongside the user’s own apps The system notices if a device has been compromised and allows remote data wiping Users can self-enroll into the network and their access levels correspond with their status in the corporate directory system Low set up costs and rapid implementation Out of the box Office 365 MDM For businesses which are tied into the Office 365 environment, the stack’s built in MDM tools are pretty comprehensive: Support on most popular devices All the user’s Office 365 settings and permissions are automatically configured to the device System settings can be configured - such as blocking screen capture or Bluetooth Decisions, decisions Mobile Device Management is an important and growing industry - and MDM providers are constantly adding more and more features to their solutions. Deciding which solution is best for you will depend on the needs and style of your business, and you should remember to bear in mind both the current and future needs of the company when doing your research. Did you know that you can deploy Infragistics' Enterprise Mobility Suite, including SharePlus, an industry-leading native mobile SharePoint solution, and ReportPlus, a mobile BI dashboard app, within your MDM platform? Sign up for a SharePlus Enterprise demo today.