10

Things to consider as you

choose your mobile device
management (MDM) solu;on

Brought to you by
 1. Understand your business needs and
security standards
Every industry is dierent in its
func;oning. Defense, health care, IT,
retail, and others each have their own
security requirements.
For example, a na;ons defense sector
will have far more protocols and security
clearance requirements when compared
with its logis;cs industry.
Therefore, it is essen;al to be aware of
your industry's standards to ensure that
there is no ambiguity while performing
research on the available features of an
mobile device management (MDM)
solu;on.
 2. Know whats in store while
embracing mobility

An enterprise that decides to go mobile should be aware of the associated pros and cons.
Let's say that your organiza;on supports BYOD (bring your own device), which allows employees
to use their personal mobile devices to perform company-related tasks like accessing work-
related content.
Employees would want the ability to complete rou;ne tasks from their smartphones during their
down;me, so they can focus on mission-cri;cal work while at their desks.
This invariably poses a risk in the form of data leakage due to factors such as malware or device
theT.
 3. Understand app management and
security
Managing mobility in organiza;ons involves
combaVng security risks concerning devices
and apps.
Exis;ng security awareness programs are
targeted towards desktop users.
If an enterprise is looking to adapt to a
mobile environment, these programs have
to be revisited to focus on the usage and
risks involved with mobile devices.
An enterprise should educate its employees
to use trusted sources and avoid suspicious
third-party sites for app downloads. It should
discourage the habit of tapping Con;nue
during app installa;ons.
An ideal MDM solu;on has features that
prevent suspicious apps from being installed.
 4. Segment your organiza;on based
on level of trust
Segments in an enterprise can be either hierarchical
or departmental.
Regardless, certain employees might have access to
data that won't be available to others such as a taxi
service provider whose drivers require passengers'
pickup and drop-o loca;ons.
Their mobile devices can be provisioned to show only
this data on an app.
However, their superiors can access further details
such as passenger email ID and age, which they can
use to make data driven decisions.
To maintain ;ered protec;on, top-level employees
require stronger encryp;on and more exibility.
 5. Set policies and restric;ons for
devices and apps
An ideal MDM solu;on would let you push policies
onto mobile devices.
By seVng up policies, you can restrict certain device
func;ons.
Consider the following situa;on: your company has
come up with a breakthrough product idea in a
market with no other oering that is even remotely
similar to yours.
Your R&D team is working on materializing this
product.
To ensure that there is not even the slightest data
leak, you need to disable data distribu;on by
preven;ng local prin;ng or data storage.
 6. Iden;fy non-compliant devices
Jail broken and rooted devices always
pose a greater risk, because they're an
easy target for malware and cyber adacks.
You need a system that can quaran;ne
devices, so threats cannot spread aTer
detec;ng malware, app risks, network
adacks, and other threats.
Enterprise data is regularly compromised
simply because employees devices aren't
compliant with the enterprises' security
policies.
An ideal MDM solu;on should detect
whether a device is compliant.
It should also let you device lock or remote
wipe non-compliant devices and bar them
from your organiza;ons network.
 7. Create awareness among users

Employees might nd an MDM solu;on to be an invasion of their privacy. While this

isnt true, you must take steps to ensure that there are no misconcep;ons regarding
user privacy invasion.
An enterprise has to educate its employees on the need for securing mobile devices,
while also making them feel comfortable about the MDM setup.
This can be done either by developing an end-user license agreement (EULA) or a
general acceptance agreement that is shared and signed by the employees.
 8. Audit regularly for compliance

Repor;ng and audi;ng are common approaches for guaranteeing

compliance with regula;ons and organiza;onal policies.
In order to prove compliance, you would have to run regular audits.
Along with running regular audits, an ideal MDM solu;on should be
able to push secure apps and enable patching and updates for both
devices and apps to ensure that the devices are compliant.
 9. Embrace new technology with a bit
of cau;on
There are plenty of device manufacturers out
there, each running its own avor of
opera;ng systembe it Android, iOS,
Windows, Blackberry, Symbian, and others.
Everyday, enhancements are made to devices
to make them faster, increase their storage
space, and more.
To make sure that your employees have what
they need to be eec;ve, you would have to
survey and study every new device
enhancement and app technology.
Ideally, the bugs have been worked out
before spending your money.
 10. Deploy a good MDM solu;on

In mobile device management, no single solu;on is one-size-ts-all.

An MDM solu;on, such as ManageEngine Mobile Device Manager Plus, is customizable
to match an individual organiza;ons requirements.
Many industries such as health care, retail, and IT can use MDM to their advantage
through its ability to cater to their unique needs.
Ask your vendor to help you adopt and establish eec;ve day-to-day MDM prac;ces.
Want to cul;vate mobility in your organiza;on without compromising
data security?

Check out this new e-book to nd out how mobile device

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