Going Cloud with Mobile Device Management In the corporate world, there has been an ongoing “battle” between people who want to use technology and people who want to control it. IT managers want to ensure mobile devices comply with their organizationspecific IT policies and that configuration is pushed to devices. To place management controls on mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones used in business, enterprises have shown preference for acquiring mobile device management (MDM) software where server and management console components are kept on premises. But that's changing, as companies are more and more interested in buying cloudbased MDM. The main advantage for cloudbased MDM is the fact that employees can register, secure, and manage their personal devices without needing the IT department. The systems have a simplified Web interface that automates a lot of the management tasks. However, choosing between an onpremise or cloudbased mobile device management solution is not always as easy as you might expect. The enterprise IT manager needs to consider how much control they ultimately want over their MDM infrastructure and balance that against the advantages of the cloudbased approach. So here are some arguments that might convince you to go cloud with your MDM. 1. Fast deployment With a cloudbased MDM solution you can get up and running quickly. In a matter of hours you can have your mobile security policies defined, have an enterprise app store configured and be enrolling your mobile devices with that MDM server. No server setup, MDM installation, firewall or networking configuration will be required. 2. Simple requirements If your MDM requirements are uncomplicated (device passcode policies, encryption settings, basic application management), then a cloudbased MDM is definitely the way to go. More control, more sophisticated integrations requirements could lead you to a on premise MDM server. Although even with complex requirements like integrating MDM with your corporate directory or your corporate email, a cloudbased MDM may still be the right option for your enterprise. 3. Keeping up with the mobile landscape The mobile environment is changing very quickly. You don’t want to spend time continuously upgrading your MDM platform every time Apple or Google releases a new version of their platform. So having an MDM system running in the cloud will release the burden of testing and upgrading the MDM application to support the continuously changing mobile device landscape.
4. Reduced costs A cloudbased MDM eliminates upfront investments in a dedicated MDM server. It also removes the ongoing hardware, operating system, database and network costs associated with running an MDM server. So, IT is ready to say goodbye to hardware and those who have been under the reign of onpremise MDM are ready to get their devices back. Let’s see what the cloud can deliver.