Mobile technology is essential to businesses today in order to remain competitive and has become a pivotal element of all facets of business operations. A Forrester study discovered that 71% of companies prioritize mobile technology while 45% provide availability anytime and anywhere - yet many organizations struggle to manage all the devices their employees possess, provide the necessary support, and protect sensitive company information.

Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) solutions may offer relief. However, one of the biggest obstacles in choosing the appropriate enterprise mobility management services lies in selecting one - selecting an inappropriate solution could drain resources from an organization and be burdensome to operate - creating major setbacks in SMB operations.

What is an EMM (Enterprise Mobility Management)?

Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM), as its name suggests, involves overseeing an organization's entire mobile network of devices using various technologies and processes. Enterprise mobility management solutions have become more important as more people demand using their personal mobile phones and tablets in the workplace - it includes BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), CYOD (Create Your Own Device), as well as other concepts.

BYOD management refers to when employees bring their mobile phones or tablets into the workplace for personal use. This allows employees greater mobility while helping enterprises reduce device-related costs. Unfortunately, it also poses serious management and security risks; when mobile devices are stolen or lost, malicious applications are installed onto phones or insecure wireless networks are used, security can easily be breached.

CYOD provides greater security and control of employee devices used at work. Employees may choose from an approved selection of devices managed and owned by their organization, meaning their data remains safe from malicious software or mobile apps, and they can recover it when it becomes stolen or lost.

How to Select an Effective Enterprise Mobility Management Solution Provider?

Today's mobile-first world makes selecting an enterprise mobility solution as important as selecting a device; not all EMM solutions offer equal services.

Mobility management is evolving. Companies traditionally employed mobile device management solutions (MDM) to secure and control their devices; as device capabilities expanded and mobile content and apps became more important, enterprise mobility services became the next logical step.

With IoT entering the market, the landscape has undergone dramatic digital transformation. We can expect billions of connected devices, things, and endpoints within several years - not all belonging to one category but managed and secured using a single, unified mobile management solution.

An effective enterprise mobile app management will give your business the control it needs over its mobile computing assets - whether this involves managing hundreds or even thousands of mobile devices. Furthermore, IT administrators and mobile workers have everything they need in order to reduce downtime and boost employee productivity, all essential in today's globalized world, where mobility workers have become ever more essential.

Robust enterprise mobile solution provider adds features to their products to cover every scenario, which slows down the performance of their product and may not meet SMB needs. EMM solutions tend to cover more features than necessary and contain unnecessary ones - for instance, a small business may not need an EMM that separates corporate from personal data.

Here are some guidelines for selecting an Enterprise Mobility Solutions that suits the needs of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) where resources may be limited and must be utilized efficiently.

Understanding Organizational Needs

Understanding an organization's needs before choosing an EMM is paramount to selecting an effective management solution. Modern businesses should avoid being seduced by fancy features and instead prioritize those which best address their requirements.

Before choosing an EMM implementation partner, organizations should carefully consider their mobile devices' ownership model. Unfortunately, there are no universal measures for managing and protecting devices that fall under different ownership models, such as Bring Your Own Devices (BYOD), Corporate Owned Business-Only(COBO), or Corporate Owned Personal Enabled(COPE).

Small businesses may require mobile policy management solutions that do not align with those provided by large EMM providers. In such situations, they should select an EMM provider offering intuitive and simple-to-use solutions, typically no more than 10,000 devices deployed simultaneously.

Large companies with multiple ownership models may opt for multiple EMM solutions in order to meet each ownership model's specific needs, which may involve different tools and solutions such as Mobile Email Management, mobile security management, mobile identity management, or Browsing Management; typically deployed devices will number more than 10,000.

Cost

EMM solutions can be costly for small businesses. EMM providers typically offer subscription or license fees, with monthly subscription prices being more flexible for smaller providers. Large EMM providers may charge additional support and onboarding fees than smaller providers do; some customers may not even have the choice between product modules or services, forcing them into more costly offerings rather than finding their desired features with plug-and-play technology providers that meet all their needs at an affordable cost.

Security Strategy

A good mobile enterprise management solution offers ways of protecting mobile computing devices for both businesses and users alike. Devices can be set in kiosk mode to restrict users to only those applications needed, thus limiting their access to other areas that might cause issues (IT departments may receive calls from users complaining their device can't connect when accidentally switching airplane mode on). It can also improve personal safety by restricting mobile phone use while driving to certain applications such as satellite navigation and maps; this reduces driver distraction while potentially avoiding costly fines for distracted driving.

Support

Support is an integral component of every successful enterprise Mobility strategy but is often underestimated or disregarded entirely. No organization wants an EMM with great functionality but poor support - checking SLAs and feedback from support teams will help select an ideal provider; choosing too large a provider for large deployments as opposed to selecting too small a provider may result in either capability issues or unwillingness to help customers solve their own problems being insufficient indicators of this.

Launch Pilot Before Full Deployment

Enterprise mobility software solutions provider company employees with personal devices with a safe and efficient platform. Employee experience is important for any organization. Thus, before mobile device deployment of such a solution, it is crucial that employees provide feedback. Administrators should find it intuitive and user-friendly as well. A pilot test will give an indication of its scalability as well as support from its provider.

Remote Management

Remote management allows businesses and IT administrators to remotely update software, firmware, and security patches; take remote control of a device in order to instruct users on particular application functions; triage devices in the field; use analytics insights in the field to monitor device health like a battery or operational status checks, while asset tracking devices help track assets whether on location or stored within warehouses; further reduce disruptions for workers by selecting when devices should be updated;

Assimilate Devices Quickly

A good EMM solution should also enable swift device deployment. Your business invested significant funds in purchasing mobile computing devices, and you should want them up and running as quickly as possible in order to achieve maximum return. EMMs can streamline the activation and preparation of smart devices in businesses using Autopilot or Zero Touch from Microsoft, making the job of IT administrators and end-users alike much simpler in getting devices up and running quickly. Each time a device connects to an internet network - either WiFi or cellular networks - it checks if it has been configured for enterprise use, downloads configuration data, and enrolls according to instructions. What once took hours now happens in minutes!

Think beyond your Smartphone

Businesses should choose an EMM solution that can support mobile printers and scanners with sufficient flexibility and also keep up with trends like wearable technology within office spaces. Businesses should take note of wearable technology as a trend in office spaces, selecting EMM providers that are dynamic enough to evolve to manage wearable devices in future capabilities. Furthermore, selecting solution providers who stay current on technological endpoints will assist companies with adopting future mobile technologies more easily.

Businesses must remain flexible and resourceful to adapt to the rapid changes in mobile technology. Enterprise mobility will likely extend beyond devices to encompass data, applications, and content - it's therefore vital that businesses devise plans to prepare for its emergence in the future. It is key that enterprise mobility management solution providers offer products with roadmap plans which integrate well with mobile content management systems, network security technologies, and app stores; both small businesses, as well as larger ones should carefully consider their requirements before selecting a mobile application management provider.