An Intro to Mobile Device Management

Today’s world is more connected than ever, with billions of devices connecting to corporate organizations all around the globe. Forty-two percent of enterprises now consider themselves to be mobile-first organizations. With that, it’s important for IT professionals to make sure they are fully managing, monitoring and securing these devices across their managed networks.

Thankfully, IT professionals have mobile device management (MDM) tools to help. MDM is a type of software that allows IT professionals to administer and manage mobile devices, such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops. MDM can also help manage network devices, such as servers. The result is a more scalable, consistent, and secure environment across hundreds or thousands of devices.

MDM tools are growing significantly in popularity. The market for mobile device management is expected to reach$10.7 billion by 2026, up from $3.4 billion in 2020. These market insights speak to the importance of MDM tools in today’s growing device-first world.

How Does Mobile Device Management (MDM) Work

An MDM tool enables IT admins to configure all devices consistently, deploy a specific set of applications, and ensure corporate IT and cybersecurity policies are maintained. MDM can keep all devices and their applications updated to the latest versions.

Additionally, an MDM tool can help ensure that devices are functioning properly by measuring performance and allowing IT admins to efficiently diagnose and troubleshoot equipment, even if they are remote. It can also help track lost equipment and immediately lock or wipe devices that can’t be recovered to protect sensitive corporate data from ending up in the wrong hands.

By administering and managing devices appropriately, IT leaders can be sure that all devices are being used properly across their environment. Additionally, leveraging an MDM tool can help mitigate cybersecurity risk from devices that aren’t adequately updated or configured correctly.

Specialized Mobile Device Management (MDM) tools for specific devices

While MDM tools can help administer and manage a wide variety of devices, there are also specialized MDM tools for certain types of devices, like those made by Apple. These specialized tools can help fill the gaps where generic MDM tools may fall short or need extra capabilities and help IT teams provide a holistic and comprehensive set of services to their end users when it comes to onboarding, ongoing maintenance and management, and securing their Apple devices.

The device-first world that we live in isn’t going away. With that in mind, IT leaders need the right tools to manage, monitor, and secure this new world, so their organizations can reap the benefits.