Mobile Device Management – is not about the Device but the Data.

After exploring policy level influences like COPE and Corporate Liability, our BYOD series now shifts to Mobile Device Management.   For the past two decades, Enterprise Management has covered lot of devices – starting with Networking, Security, Server, Storage and Databases, through what was called ‘Configuration Management Databases’, linked with various attributes.  This Enterprise Management extended with a deluge of new devices – both in terms of variety and volume – the mobile devices.

Mobile device management (MDM) is an industry term for the administration of mobile devices, such as smartphones, tablet computers, laptops and desktop computers. MDM is usually implemented with the use of a third party product that has management features for particular vendors of mobile devices.  MDM software can be integrated with enterprise management software like BMC Patrol,  IBM Tivoli or HP Openview.   Gartner’s study shows that more than 65% of the Enterprise will adapt MDM solutions by 2018 and the Enterprise MDM market will reach $712.4 million by the same year.

However,  now, MDM is not only about the mobile device, but will encampass more aspects of security.  It would be more appropriate to call it – Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) according to some experts.  Now, why is MDM itself moving away from the device?  According to a study, most Enterprise managers agree that it is the data, and the integrity and security of data that is to be managed and protected.  Each security laps would cost between $10000 and $250000, as per the study.  And this is due to the impact of loss of data, rather than the device itself.

Different companies do analyse the cost of Mobile Device Management in different ways, and therefore the solution-scape is different.  This has evolved various service delivery models for MDM.  Factors like in-house or outsourced delivery models create this variety.  It is in this context, we will analyse the trends in our forthcoming series of MDM – and how it is about the management and protection of data and not the device.

Previous blog:  –  BYOD: Corporate Liability and Cope
Next blog:  – MDM: Wearable Devices and Containerization