Mobile Device Management: The Next Frontier

The rising tide of mobile devices entering the enterprise creates a management problem for IT professionals. Many have chosen to not allow them on their corporate network, based on security concerns. While others only allow those devices, like Blackberry, that do have a management platform. Neither is an appropriate answer for an executive holding a new tablet device and wants to use it in the office as well as at home. Efficient deployment and management of Windows-based PC?s is now a foundational element of corporate IT, so IT Professionals are naturally looking to manage the new mobile devices in a similar manner. The challenge is that the new devices are running Android, iOS or other platforms that may not have been designed for management in the same way as Windows. An evaluation of both the strategic and tactical requirements is the first step for IT Professionals looking for a mobile device management solution. The most critical strategic decision is ?who is going to manage the device?? This usually falls into one of 3 areas. External management ? You choose to have a service provider manage your mobile devices for you. Internal management ? You want to leverage your current management infrastructure to manage the mobile devices along with your PC?s and servers in a ?single pane of glass?. User Managed/Virtual ? You want to let the user manage the device, but allow a portal to your corporate environment through virtualization. Choosing a mobile device management strategy may be easier than addressing the tactical requirements. Here?s a list of some of the tactical requirements that will drive your mobile device management discussions. Encryption ? Do you need the device memory encrypted for security or compliance reasons? Remote Wipe ? Do you need to be able to remotely wipe a device that has been lost or compromised? Application management/deployment ? Do you need to deploy and manage the apps on the mobile device? User experience ? Virtual Desktop on a mobile device vs. custom corporate mobile apps? Level of functionality ? What will your users expect to be able to do? Dell has an Enterprise Mobility Solutions team that is ready to discuss your strategic and tactical goals for Mobile Device Management and assist you in creating an open, capable, and affordable solution that fits your business needs. As always, feel free to discuss your journey into the next frontier with your peers in the Dell TechCenter community forum.cell phones cell phone spyware cell spy mobile spy