Ninety percent data savings? Most businesses don’t even know they’re overspending

MDM software introduces governance, visibility and consistency across every mobile asset. (Image: Tsukuru)

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Most organisations are overspending on mobile data at a scale they haven’t quantified and, in some cases, it’s as high as 90%.

Not because of contracts. Not because of network costs. But because of something far simpler. A lack of visibility and control over the devices running their operations.

In one recent deployment, a large corporation reduced mobile data consumption by approximately 90% in a single month – not by changing providers, but by managing how enterprise devices were used.

For executives, that raises a more important question: If that level of inefficiency exists in one organisation, how common is it across yours?

Mobile devices are no longer peripheral tools. They are embedded in core operations: field service execution, logistics and fleet co-ordination, warehouse management, retail and real-time communication.

Yet in many organisations, these devices remain poorly governed, inconsistently configured and largely invisible at scale.

That creates a blind spot – not just for IT, but for the business.

In high-risk sectors like logistics, the implications are already visible. With 420 truck hijackings recorded in a single quarter in South Africa, the loss of a device is no longer just a replacement cost – it’s an operational disruption and a security exposure.

MDM software introduces governance, visibility and consistency across every mobile asset. (Image: Tsukuru)

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Even outside of extreme scenarios, the impact is measurable:

• Uncontrolled data spend quietly inflates budgets.
• Device downtime slows frontline teams.
• Inconsistent configurations reduce reliability.
• Manual support models limit scalability.

Individually manageable. Collectively systemic.

Most organisations respond by negotiating better data contracts, replacing devices or increasing IT support capacity. That feels logical. It’s also where they go wrong.

These are incremental fixes. They don’t address the root cause: devices are being managed as isolated assets instead of as a controlled system. Until that changes, inefficiencies persist regardless of how much is spent trying to fix them.

See how much of your mobile spend is recoverable.

Mobile device management (MDM) software is often positioned as an IT tool. That framing undersells its impact.

At an executive level, MDM software is an operational control layer – introducing governance, visibility and consistency across every mobile asset.

Digital device management enables organisations to:

• See every fleet device in real-time.
• Enforce usage and compliance policies.
• Standardise configurations per provisioned role.
• Gain visibility on data consumption and application usage.
• Support and update dispersed devices remotely.
• Remotely lock or wipe devices when compromised.

In practical terms: Android device management replaces fragmentation with control.

The results are measurable.

In one roll-out across more than 960 devices, a process that would have taken 32 weeks was completed in under an hour with the use of MDM technology.

In another case, MDM was implemented to remove unauthorised apps, block personal usage and ensure corporate policies, resulting in approximately 90% data savings within the first month.

No infrastructure overhaul. No operational disruption. Just visibility and governance applied consistently.

At scale, this is not a marginal saving – it’s a recoverable budget line.

This is not about technology adoption. It’s about recognising a category of risk and inefficiency that has been largely ignored.

Unmanaged device fleets create hidden cost leakage, operational fragility, security exposure and scaling limitations.

Because these issues are distributed, they rarely appear as a single problem.

Instead, they surface as:

• Rising data costs
• Intermittent downtime
• Support bottlenecks
• Asset visibility gaps

Symptoms – not causes.

MDM software introduces governance, visibility and consistency across every mobile asset. (Image: Tsukuru)

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Most organisations already have the devices. They already run the workflows. They are already absorbing the costs.

The question is: Do you have control over the system those devices create?

In a constrained economy, executives are under pressure to reduce costs, improve efficiency and strengthen resilience.

Opportunities that deliver measurable impact quickly are rare. Recovering up to 90% of mobile data spend is one of them.

But only for organisations that move beyond treating devices as tools and start managing them as infrastructure.

Once you understand that your fleet of devices are assets, the question is no longer whether you should act – it’s whether you can afford not to.

Request a device fleet assessment to understand where you’re losing visibility, overspending on data and how quickly control can be established.

A device fleet assessment provides a clear, data-driven view of how your devices are being used, where costs are leaking and where operational risks are emerging – from uncontrolled data spend to downtime and security exposure. With minimal disruption, you can identify what’s recoverable, where control can be strengthened and how quickly meaningful savings and operational improvements can be achieved.