Unarguably, one of the most important revolutions in the last decade has been that in mobile computing technologies. In the U.S. alone, more than 230 million people now use a mobile device. As statistics from Pew Research show, more than 50% of Americans now use a smartphone. While it’s true that the majority of smartphone use is for leisure, checking social media, email, and texting, statistics from MOZ show that professional phone usage is becoming much more prevalent. Indeed, by the end of the year, 68% of U.S. businesses will be implementing bring your own device, or BYOD, policies, allowing their workers to work via their own mobile devices. To implement such a wide-scale tech policy, however, mobile device management is crucial.
What is Mobile Device Management Software?
As Tech Target defines it, mobile device management is the method of managing security protocols, e.g. encryption, passwords, and permissions, so that only authorized parties gain access to sensitive data. For individuals, this means protecting personal information that can be used in identity theft. For businesses, this means protecting proprietary or sensitive information that is key to success. Whether it’s iPhone security or that for other smart devices, mobile device management is the key to protecting businesses and their employees.
How Does It Work?
According to Network World, there are four phases of mobile device management, whether for iPhone management or other platforms; provisioning, device management, application management, and continued oversight. Provisioning is planning how each device will be managed. For instance, older devices will need to have new management software installed. Next, each device will have business standard protocols installed to secure it against potential threats. After that, IT professionals will manage the security settings on the applications each device runs, making sure they do not circumvent company security measures. After these three steps have been taken, the final phase, continued oversight, begins to ensure all devices stay under the blanket of MDM protections.
What’s the Benefit of Mobile Device Management?
The main benefit of using an MDM solution is that it protects your business from the possible pitfalls of BYOD, data theft, phone theft, and the like, in one fell swoop. Not only is this good for your employees, but it’s great for your bottom-line. According to Network World, well implemented mobile device management solutions can actually cut business communications cost by 30%, as they can elongate the life of devices. Further, since, according to Ponemon Institute, cyber crime can cost businesses as much as $46 million a year, implementing a smart security plan through mobile device management goes even further in cutting potential costs.
Quite clearly, mobile device management is a powerful, effective tool for protecting your business. Especially for the the huge number of American companies that will be using BYOD policies by the end of 2013, having a plan for securing and managing all of those new devices will be the key to security and financial well-being.