Mobile technology has untethered businesses from working based out of a single location, and this has unlocked multiple solutions that further help businesses. As businesses are gravitating towards unlocking the immense potential of mobility and mobile device management for their businesses, there’s much that needs to be explored to realize the possibilities of this mechanism.

Modern technology has enabled businesses with the ability to work outside of the traditional brick and mortar space or conventional workplaces. It has facilitated seamless management of communication – giving access to information which is relevant and important at that point in time – as well as processes, greatly improving productivity as well as decreasing costs.

These undeniable benefits have made Enterprise Mobility Management one of the most popular topics of discussion in B2B circles and crucial to organizations.

What exactly is enterprise mobility management (EMM)?

Put simply, it is the world of connected devices. To elaborate a little more, EMM is a set of technologies, processes and policies meant to secure and manage the use of both – personally owned and company owned – mobile devices to manage work of an organization from multiple places. This is facilitated with through technologies like open wireless networks, enterprise cloud-based systems and personal network systems for data sharing and application access. The discipline of EMM is continuously evolving to cater to the changing environment of mobile device platforms and mobility trends in an office space.

This trend in work management evolved as a result of the “Bring Your Own Device” movement that encouraged employees to use their device to manage work on the go, while also allowing the company’s IT team to hold control over the company’s assets.

Why is EMM essential for a modern enterprise?

Enterprise mobility management enhances productivity company-wide by delivering the required information no matter what the user’s location is. It enables greater focus on the job and customer service, allowing users to respond to their customer queries as and when they’re raised. The ultimate goal is to foster a major overhaul in how enterprises works, and also a major transformation in the way mobile devices are used to unlock work potential.

The Different EMM Models

 BYOD

People have become increasingly connected and utilize their smart phones for a wide range of purposes – that include work as well. People are comfortable working on the hardware they’re familiar with and therefore, it is only fair that they be allowed to work on them as well. Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) allows to staff to carry their own device and enables them to be productive from almost anywhere.  While BYOD brings in a whole lot of benefits, which also includes decrease in overhead costs, it also has challenges that companies must be prepared to face. Adequate IT security measures need to be put in place to ensure that employees are not able to misuse official data.

COPE

Corporate Owned Personally Enabled (COPE) devices are an alternative to BYOD that does not pose the potential security risk, while giving employees the flexibility they require. Employees can use devices issued and sanctioned by the organization, for work as well as for personal use, and in this case, IT eases a bit on security. However, they still maintain a safe grip by watching behaviors of these devices.

CYOD

With the rising number of mobile devices and multiple operating systems, the IT department can never be fully prepared for all the mobile variations they may have to support. In such cases, organizations use Choose Your Own Device to strike a middle ground. In this approach, the enterprise will list approved devices that an address critical business needs for the organization and the employee. Organizations can configure the device with the necessary applications to enable productivity and protect sensitive data.

The different components of EMM

Mobile Device Management (MDM)

MDM allows a company’s IT department to track and manage an employee- or corporate-owned device. With an MDM solution, a business can configure Wi-Fi access, as well as install and manage enterprise applications. It also enabled the IT department to remotely lock and wipe a device in case the device is stolen.

Mobile Application Management (MAM)

MAM has a sharper focus in that it manages corporate owned applications and it allows businesses to lock down enterprise applications and data within the application. It however, does not allow for the company to manage the device as a whole, but just the applications and the content within the applications.

Mobile Information Management (MIM)

MIM is the software and services used to secure and manage sensitive, business critical data used across – personal and corporate – devices.

Mobile Email Management (MEM)

MEM delivers comprehensive security to a company’s corporate email infrastructure. The enterprise’s IT department has complete control over mobile devices accessing emails, to prevent data loss, enforce strict compliance rules and encrypt sensitive corporate data.

Mobile Content Management (MCM)

MCM is a type of software that allows easy access and sharing of content from any device within a specific enterprise. It also facilitates the easy sharing of content across different channels within the company network and also to the client’s network, when required.

The Future of Enterprise Mobility Management

With technologies like IoT connecting almost any device, be a wearable or any physical device, the scope of EMM has been greatly magnified. A report by Juniper Research has found that almost 38 billion will be connected in 2020 and in such a context, it would only be in the best interest of the business to tap into this area by devising a smart EMM strategy. It is advisable that companies adopt EMM technology before implementing a comprehensive IoT strategy across the organization.

Corporates who plan on implementing IoT as part of their adoption of new age technology should have a strong EMM framework in place. This will help them in understanding critical questions related to managing data on the IoT devices connected to their networks.

It remains crucial to remember that the convergence of IoT and EMM could be the next big thing in mobility management. By being continuously connected, collaboration is a whole lot easier and this opens up a lot of possibilities for business development and communication of the future.