Kae Zulager

So now that we have defined what Mobile Device Management (MDM) IS, let’s define what it IS NOT.

MDM is…..

1. NOT a Managed Solution (you and your enterprise need to work make MDM work)
2. NOT Wireless Expense Management (it is a cost add)
3. NOT an equal opportunity device provider (some OS do not support MDM well)
4. NOT necessarily a good replacement for what you may already have
5. NOT completely able to remotely control nor troubleshoot devices
6. NOT a complete nor standardized solution with respect to the exhaustive solution required by a successful mobile enterprise today

While all are key factors, I will discuss the first two in detail as they are the most important key factors in my mind and they are the most often misunderstood.

First, MDM is NOT a Managed Solution

The Enterprise needs a Mobility Policy, that is an Operational statement of what can be done with a mobile device, who should be able to conduct certain procedures and how these procedures will occur. All users need to be set up and rules for which applications will be allowed need to be determined. For example if you don’t want users to have Facebook on their corporate device, this needs to be delineated and then managed as part of MDM user protocols.

The following are just a few of the things needing to be considered for MDM management profiles and user policies:

• Lock down strategy by user
• Content restrictions
• Device setting configurations
• Messaging rules and restrictions
• App rules
• Restrictions and security settings (access enabled, etc.).

None of this is just done by MDM, MDM simply implements what you tell it to do after you set up the process for it to do it.

Second, MDM is NOT Wireless Expense Management (WEM)

Fie on those MDM providers touting they are a WEM solution. Let’s review: MDM costs you money to implement, WEM saves you money to implement.

Although these two solutions can be combined to help enterprises in the long run avoid costs, MDM on its own does NOT help reduce your wireless expense. WEM, on the other hand, as a fully managed solution reduces your bills without the enterprise having to do anything except approve changes.

Let’s take one example of what happens with MDM when changes need to happen:

Now lets take a look at the same example when done with a WEM provider:

You can get all the alerts necessary to make the enterprise AWARE of potential issues, but if no one in the organization actually makes the change, the result is not a good one (also, again, back to point 1, MDM is NOT a MANAGED SOLUTION).

On the other hand, WEM is a managed solution and inherently takes the additional steps required in order to save money. MDM providers can tout money savings all they want, but unless someone is managing the plans, the enterprise will end up paying more.

Craig Mathias writes several great points on MDM and expense management in his November 2011 Information week article. He says:

“…tracking of how money is being spent on network access is vital. It’s important that this be as close to real-time as possible in order to spot negative trends before they become a big hit to the bottom line. And policy enforcement via software would also be nice–there’s no point in racking up cellular minutes when, for example, a lower-cost Wi-Fi option is available.”

I’ve proposed the term Mobile Operations Management (MOM) as the all-inclusive catch-phrase for describing all of the elements required for a successful enterprise mobility implementation–successful being defined as secure, cost-effective, appropriate, visible, enabling, and manageable. But no matter what we call all of this, enterprises everywhere need to think about strategy, and not just assume that an MDM solution (again, whatever that is) is all that’s required”.

Gartner when referring to what MDM is NOT says, “While IT organizations vary in their approaches to implementing and owning the tools that manage mobile devices (e.g., the messaging group, some other mobile group, the desktop group, etc.), there are still very few that are managing the full life cycle across multiple device platforms.

This idea of wireless management is key. MDM is piece of the pie, and it could be a very helpful piece, but it is only a piece; don’t be misled by trying to keep up with the joneses on the latest and greatest. It is likely not the right plan, right price nor right result.

In order to fully grasp what MDM actually does, it’s helpful to understand exactly what MDM is.

MDM Defined

• Wikipedia defines it as: “Software which secures, monitors, manages and supports mobile devices deployed across mobile operators, service providers and enterprises. MDM functionality typically includes over-the-air distribution of applications, data and configuration settings for all types of mobile devices…”.
• Gartner, in their IT Glossary, defines Mobile device management (MDM) includes software that provides the following functions: software distribution, policy management, inventory management, security management and service management for smartphones and media tablets.

Mobile device management allows administrators to oversee the function of wireless devices via software downloaded to the device Over The Air (OTA). This means that MDM providers have mobile devices secure their software over the air (OTA) from an application that is downloaded to the device.

The software then can add certain allowable softwares (like allow windows, don’t allow Facebook) and
then provides information about that device (NOTE: not about its billing nor about how best to allocate
or spend cost, but about the device itself: it is on, what is the battery life, security, etc.)

Basic MDM Functionality

Wikipedia states, “The ideal mobile device management tool:

• Is compatible with common device operating platforms and applications.
• Can function through multiple service providers.
• Can be implemented directly Over the Air (OTA), targeting specific devices as necessary.
• Can deploy next-generation hardware, operating platforms and applications quickly.
• Can add or remove devices from the system as necessary to ensure optimum network efficiency and security.

Below are some of the functionalities of MDM:

• Diagnostics
• Remote Configuration and Provisioning
• Security
• Backup/Restore
• Network Usage and Support
• Server Deployment
• Mobile Asset Tracking and Management
• Remote Lock and Wipe
• Device Provisioning
• Software Installation
• Troubleshooting and Diagnostic Tools
• Policy Application
• Logging and Reporting
• Remote Control and Administration
• GPS Tracking and ‘Breadcrumb’ Mapping

Criteria to Consider When Choosing MDM Providers

Gartner, in their most recent “Magic Quandrant” rating on MDM included the following criteria to select
their top MDM providers:

Support for enterprise-class (noncarrier), multiplatform support MDM: software or software as a service (SaaS), with an emphasis on mobility

Specific MDM product focus and feature set, or a primary focus on MDM in another product set (messaging or security)

Security management, with at least these features:

• Enforced password
• Device wipe
• Remote lock
• Audit trail/logging
• “Jailbreak” detection
• At least mobile OS 3 platforms supported
• Policy/compliance management

Software distribution, with at least these capabilities supported:

• Application downloader
• Application verification
• Application update support
• Application patch support

Inventory management, with at least these capabilities supported:

External memory blocking

Configuration change history

Managing at least 25,000 mobile lines

Five referenceable accounts

At least $1 million in MDM-specific revenue

Given the large number of players in this market and the complexity of the products, we have chosen to restrict this analysis to a subset of vendors whose offerings get the most interest and highest level of inquiries from Gartner’s clients.

SERVER AND CAPABILITIES

What you get for your money – an important factor to consider.

One major area of differentiation among MDM offerings is the technical approach to management. The industry is divided into 3 delivery modalities:

• cloud services
• on-premises
• hosted

While many products are on-premises, a growing number of cloud services offerings are starting to appeal to users because they are more economical. The option provides fewer up- front costs due to no purchases of software and allows more flexibility to scale up services with growing mobility adoption or needs. However, many providers do require both an activation fee, potential maintenance fee and set-up fees. Make sure you understand what you are paying and what it gets you and the organization!

Gartner also adds the following about server vs client-side offerings:

Server-side product or service offerings These offerings may have a small mobile agent running on the device, and/or call native APIs provided by the mobile OS platform (e.g., iOS 4), but do not have a complete mobile management client. They can enforce policies on the server side, but cannot control the device and mobile user behavior in depth. They are used in combination with native mobile support in corporate email servers (e.g., Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync [EAS] in Microsoft Exchange Server or Notes Traveler in Lotus Notes/Domino) to enforce complementary policies to those provided by the server. Thus, they can preserve the native email client experience on iPhones and iPads, which are favorite choices for users.

Client-side offerings Management software is available for every relevant mobile OS platform (either stand-alone or blended with a proprietary email client). The management client can enforce strong IT control on the device (e.g., local data encryption, selective wipe and containerization). Actually, it replaces it, and it does not work with the device’s native email client, but requires its own client, which can only connect to a corporate email server. Good Technology’s approach prioritizes on IT control, limiting the user’s choice and experience with the email client.

Potential MDM Providers

The following vendors have been examined when reviewing the marketplace:
AirWatch, BoxTone, Excitor, Fiberlink, FancyFon, Good Technology, Mobile Active Defense, McAfee, MobileIron,Sybase, Symantec, Tangoe and Zenprise. Vendors not included in this research are still valid options for consideration (see “Magic Quadrant for Mobile Device Management Software” for details), including: Capricode, Fixmo, IBELEM, Fromdistance, Motorola, Odyssey Software, Smith Micro Software, SOTI, The Institution and Ubitexx (acquired by RIM).

While most vendors specialize in management for smartphones and tablets, a subset provides specific capabilities to manage fleets of ruggedized devices (on Windows CE or Windows Mobile), including SOTI, Odyssey Software and Motorola. We do not consider these vendors in a separate use case because specialized management tools for ruggedized devices generate limited Gartner client inquiries.

You can find the entire Gartner study by clicking here.

To Conclude

First, take a look at PART II – MDM: What it is NOT (COMING SOON). This will help shed some light on what to expect and how YOU will really need to heavily interact with these programs and solutions to indeed see concrete results.

Second, make sure you know and identify IT policies required to control deployments, manage risks and support users.

Third, make sure you understand how to marry the product and your needs to make any of these products useful to your organization and that it will indeed produce RESULTS, not just more work for you at increased rates.