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Optimize Your Mobile Communications Network with MDM Solutions

The Seven Principals of Mobile Device Management

1. Leverage Your Existing Investments: Device management products which do not require their own proprietary servers and consoles and integrate seamlessly with existing systems management platforms, such as Microsoft® Systems Management Server 2003 (SMS 2003) and Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 (Configuration Manager 2007), enable organizations to leverage all of the native infrastructure of these platforms and their inherent scalability, security and reliability.


2. Don’t Compromise on Features: There are MDM vendors who provide functionality across multiple operating systems and platforms, and there are those who are focused on developing comprehensive solutions for a narrower number. An MDM vendor who focuses on a single platform, such as Windows Mobile, has an opportunity to maximize the feature set. The rule of thumb is to make the vendor selection based on how critical it is to effectively solve issues in the field. The more mission critical the application, the more imperative it is to have a feature rich solution.


3. Stress your Options: When reviewing options from MDM vendors, many appear to be similar in functions and features. However, testing MDM options in a pilot is critical to insuring that the product is able to scale with current and future deployment requirements. In addition to stress testing the products, it’s also very important to perform strict due diligence with reference accounts using the product in similar deployment scenarios.


4. You don’t know what you don’t know: In many situations, critical, yet subtle capabilities of a well-architected mobile device management product are not always evident in a cursory review. For example, it’s critical for MDM products to be able to update a program that is currently running, or detect and fix corrupted applications without user intervention. In addition, the MDM product must be able to update software subsystems or files that are shared across multiple applications. Another challenge is configuration drift. How will your administrators deal with managing, changing, and repairing configurations to ensure compliance? These are just a few of the less-than-obvious issues facing mobile device management that need to be considered and tested before deciding on a MDM solution.


5. Time, Money, and People Matter: Effective MDM products can significantly reduce operational overhead, total cost of ownership and IT expenses by enabling Help Desk personnel to remotely control each mobile device exactly as though they were holding it in their hands, even over wide-area wireless networks. This includes performing complex management tasks; adding, updating and removing device software; changing settings; troubleshooting problems and assisting end-users remotely; reducing time to resolution; shipping costs, and improving the end-user experience.


6. Securely Managing Devices is Key: In today’s competitive corporate environments, unrestricted devices are prime targets for theft. Selecting an MDM product that ensures sensitive data is not transferred outside controlled devices and that only authorized connectivity is enabled with internal corporate resources is crucial to protect business critical information.


7. All MDM Products Are Not Created Equal: Lastly, pay attention to how MDM products are designed and architected. Is the overall architecture extensible; can it evolve as your requirements evolve? Do you have options to invest in just those feature sets you need and want to support? Can it migrate to an upgraded platform, such as from SMS2003 to Configuration Manager 2007? Before committing to a MDM product you should develop a forward-looking plan that outlines scenarios for your final solution to stand up to.

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