The mobile device is deeply ingrained in modern life, society, and culture, so it will be present in the workplace. This can be a very useful thing… with the right preparations, your employees can become a lot more mobile in terms of their potential productivity.
However, mobile work isn’t without its dangers. Perhaps the most obvious risk is that a device will be lost, whether it's left behind in a rideshare or pilfered as a latte is retrieved from the barista. Either way, your business will have suffered a data breach.
Let’s talk about how this outcome can be avoided with some proactive planning, thanks to mobile device management.
Mobile device management (or MDM) is a service that allows us to extend our managed IT services to the mobile devices your team members would use for work, specifically allowing us to ensure your business’ data is protected.
Each device added to your MDM strategy has a portion of its storage space dedicated to hosting the business applications a team member uses. This “container” helps keep all business data separate from that team member’s personal data.
For instance, let’s say that a company has elected to use Google Workplace as its everyday productivity toolkit. Paula from sales also uses a personal Google account. MDM allows Paula to have both on her phone at the same time without interfering with each other, so she can work productively without juggling between accounts. It is an entirely separate instance of the application, no blending of data involved.
Not to pick on poor Paula too much, but let’s say she was chatting with someone at an industry conference, only to have them swipe her mobile device when she wasn’t looking. If Paula’s phone was part of her company’s mobile device management plan with us, we can immediately rescind any permissions and remove all business data from it. Her personal photos, contacts, and the like will remain untouched—it will only affect the company-owned data.
Of course, this has more uses than protecting your business when Paula’s phone goes missing. For instance, Paula may choose to move on one day.
Depending on how the relationship ends, you may or may not be able to have hands-on access to an employee’s personal device. In these cases, MDM is hugely beneficial. All access to your business’ files and servers can be removed with no additional effects on the former employee’s property or privacy, with your sensitive data and IP being protected.
We’re here to help Northern Virginia businesses with their IT needs, including mobile device management and other tools that help ensure both security and productivity. Reach out to us at (571) 470-5594 to find out what we can do for your organization.
