What is MDM

Mobile device management is the software used by businesses to optimize the functionality and security of the fleet of mobile devices within their organization while protecting the network, controlling, and securing company data as well as user productivity. MDM solutions can either be hosted in the cloud or onsite, and they enable the management of all mobile endpoints, including both personal and company devices. MDM is administrated using a third-party product that has management features applicable to mobile products. With MDM, administrators can perform IT tasks from a central location to maintain devices and users in an easy, consistent, and scalable way without manually intervening and interrupting usage. The greatest benefit of MDM is limiting the risk of data loss and preventing potential hacking/unwanted malware installations.

The importance of an MDM

With the increasing adoption of mobile devices across workforces, working from home and overall digitalization – organizations are looking for solutions to facilitate secure user access, mitigate IT department overloading and unwanted data breaches. With MDM, corporations can avoid the risk of data loss which is vital as breaches are becoming increasingly sophisticated and more costly to prevent.

In addition to protecting company data from hacking and malware, MDM also provides the added benefit of taking on manual device updates that normally fall on the individual employee or IT department. It is no secret that individual users may not be as vigilant about keeping software on devices up to date and ensuring compliancy with data policies. MDM can enable regular automatic backups of data for redundancy and protection in case of human error of any sort. MDMs can also enable device tracking and reporting as well as remote support.

There are several options when looking into MDM suppliers and they all vary greatly in terms of benefits, for example some MDM only offer solutions for a singular operating system. Therefore, it is vital to know what your needs are when searching for a solution.

Hybrid Software & Hardware MDM Solutions

The M3 Solution is a combined software and hardware solution which offers unique benefits over a traditional MDM such as flexibility of content management and operating systems. The M3 Platform allows full control of the hardware and complete automation of content synchronization. The platform is equipped to handle complex, large data structures and offers management of the hardware itself ie. locking the device in place while synching content ensuring the process is uninterrupted. A traditional MDM/EMM (Enterprise Mobility Management) will always require human intervention to complete any content synchronization or app/OS update and traditional MDM cannot support the synchronization of large and complex data structures.

There are many key benefits to traditional MDMs and plenty of customizable systems are available that suit the needs to various enterprises.  

To be considered an MDM though, the solution should always include:

• Device tracking
• Basic remote management of users and devices
• Controlled device updates
• Device reporting
• Enhanced security

Managing mobile devices through a VPN connection is vital to maintaining compliancy, cost saving and ensuring mobile device security. An effective MDM platform helps keep all devices secure while keeping the workforce flexible and productive. For further information on the M3 Solution visit our solutions page.