Develop a Mobile Management Strategy
Small devices can be a big challenge without a strategy to manage them.
- Small devices can bring big problems. Security is the top concern, but compliance, increased help desk requests, and management costs can also worry IT strategists.
- The bring your own device (BYOD) movement is replacing strictly controlled corporate-issued devices with a wide variety of consumer devices. Ensuring that every device can be safely used in the workplace is a challenge for which few organizations are prepared.
- There are dozens of different strategy possibilities. Can users bring their own devices? Who pays for telecom expenses? What will IT support? What about a combination of different strategies for different users? Wading through all the choices can threaten to overwhelm IT.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
- Info-Tech’s research has shown that organizations with a formal mobile management strategy are more successful in taking advantage of the strengths of mobile devices in the workplace, as well as avoiding their potential problems.
- Introducing some BYOD to your strategy can result in massive cost savings, even when factoring in the increased cost of managing the wide variety of devices. Technology like mobile device management (MDM) can help to wrangle in a large number and variety of devices from a single interface.
- A large number of strategy choices can be boiled down to a smaller number of key decisions. Make these decisions for each group of users to arrive at a strategy tailored to your organization. After a strategy has been chosen, apply limits and develop policies to put the strategy to work.
Impact and Result
- This research will allow IT professionals to develop a mobile strategy, either from scratch or as a change to an existing strategy. A carefully planned strategy will not only increase the impact of mobile devices and mitigate the risks, but will also lower TCO by cutting company reimbursement where appropriate.
- Use Info-Tech’s mobile device policy templates to create policies that communicate the company’s strategy to users and ensure that policies are enforceable.
- An understanding of current mobile platforms and management technologies will inform the strategy, and a regular reassessment of the strategy will keep it up to date.
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Unlock Sample ResearchContributors
- Bobbi Jean Jarvinen, Director of Operations, Regional Health
- Dakster Sullivan, Network Administrator, Utility Company
- Don Guyver, Directory & Messaging Services, Catholic Health East
- Helen Hill-Schoenherr, IT Business Planning, City of Ottawa
- John DeVeaux, Enterprise Architect, Hines
- 166 professionals contributed survey data that assisted with the development of the set and additional anonymous quotes