Managing mobility

Mobile device management has become a crucial part of protecting the business, as trends in workforce mobility are driving the need to protect more than just the device itself. As companies look to buy a mobile device management solution, there are various points they should consider.

Simon Campbell-Young, CEO of Phoenix Distribution, says not all businesses need the same level of security. "Companies with valuable or sensitive data - such as healthcare providers and financial institutions - will obviously need more, while others will need less. Ultimately, it's about finding a level of security that is acceptable to the business and in line with its appetite for risk."

However, he says all companies need a well thought out mobile security strategy, and that having one in place will pay for itself quickly, as these are instrumental in avoiding major security breaches.

"Mobile devices such as cellphones and tablets, applications, and wireless communications have become vital tools for all types and sizes of business, as they bring with them huge benefits in terms of staff productivity, sales, CRM, collaboration, decision-making, and time to market, all things with can give a business a serious competitive edge."

Sales people can connect to CRM applications and company databases, keeping them up to date with pricing and inventory, allowing them to have all the information they need at their fingertips. "And this is only one example. People in the field, doctors and nurses, retailers - all can reap tremendous benefits from having mobile connectivity," Campbell-Young says.

"At the end of the day, mobile has arrived, it is here to stay, and companies who ignore it do so at their peril, as they will fail to reap the benefits and remain competitive. However, mobility is not without its challenges, and firm mobile device management policies and tools must be in place to secure the mobile environment."

Campbell-Young says any MDM initiatives must be built around the business goals. "MDM has long been a grey area that consists of multiple tasks, including mobile asset inventory, security, software distribution and similar. It is a challenge to address all these factors in one go, but doing them bit by bit, without an 'umbrella' plan, can result in separate silos that bring more trouble than MDM can solve."

He advises to take a good look at business processes and mobility plans, and use these to put a thorough set of MDM requirements in place according to priorities. "Start with identifying all the mobile devices, tablets, cellphones and similar that will be used for business purposes, and keep this list in a single dashboard or data store that can be used by all other MDM functions."

This is a good base, and will make it simpler to define policies for effective devices, instead of adopting a mud against the wall approach that is ineffective. "From here, bear in mind that any MDM solution must be able to allow the technology department to secure and manage mobile devices across different operating systems, offer secure business communications, configure devices automatically, and have the ability to remotely wipe data should the need arise. Finally, IT administrators must be allowed to apply controls based on several parameters, for example, the type of device, who owns it, and what their role is. With this in place, IT can take the hassle away from the end-user, and at the same time, ensure the company doesn't fall foul of privacy and compliance regulations."