It is impossible for me to recall a single customer that does not have some sort of mobile access to corporate resources. Increased productivity, cloud applications, and expectations of quick responses are driving the need for mobile access to corporate resources. However, there are two main concerns customers have, or should have, when allowing users access to corporate resources.
First, there is a security concern, which is a whole other topic that I will tackle another day. Secondly, there is the crazy management side of this. How are you managing these devices? Are end users required to install applications? Are you providing them the settings for these applications? Do they have to go and surrender their device with IT to get their applications installed? If they are BYOD devices, how are these treated differently? What happens when devices are lost, stolen, or replaced? These are all common questions that customers looking at mobility management are trying to solve.
MDM has come a long way and there are many different options out there. Most platforms offer similar features and functionality like geofencing, application push, security, remote wipe, etc.… I have found that it is important for customers considering MDM to first decide on how they want to manage it and what they actually want to do with it. You will also want to take into account whether it is a BYOD or corporate asset and how they are treated differently. Also, do not forget to consult with your corporate policies and procedures. Once you know the specifics let the product search begin. Many of the solutions offer a Free 30-day trail. Meraki is one of the solutions that offers a free 30-day trial that you can convert after the trail if you decide to do so. Let us guide you too; we have many customers with mobility management solutions in production from various vendors. Although they are all similar, some solutions are more specifically geared for certain verticals.
Meraki is one of my personal favorites and it actually proved very useful for me personally. When Meraki MDM was introduced, it was free and I was excited to start testing it out. Therefore, I configured it on my iPhone and tested doing some basic app pushes and geofencing tests. A couple weeks later, I returned home from a hockey game when I discovered I was missing my phone. Of course, I am that guy that keeps his phone on silent all the time so calling it wasn’t going to help. I tore my house apart looking for my phone but could not find it. I thought maybe I left it at the rink so I called they had not found anything yet. Then it dawned on me, I installed the Meraki MDM app on my phone maybe there was something I could do from there? I was able to login to Meraki MDM and see my phone online and apparently in the center of my driveway. It would have been nice if it told me that it fell out of my coat pocket and slid underneath the seat of my car but it got the job done!
Contact us today to learn more about Meraki MDM and how we can help implement it!
