Bolstered by pandemic pressures, the number of mobile devices worldwide has seen significant growth over the past two years. As COViD-19 began its spread, businesses and consumers looked to stay connected anywhere, anytime, even as public health restrictions rapidly evolved. From smartphones to tablets and wearables, mobile devices are everywhere. The numbers tell the tale: in 2021, more than 83 percent of the world's population owned a smartphone.
For businesses, mobile devices come with both benefits and challenges. While the increasing availability of 5G and WiFi6 networks helped enable the transition to remote work, management of business devices is now paramount to help bolster the adoption of new technologies while simultaneously addressing security concerns.
There is a growing need for companies to implement mobile device approaches that allow them to rapidly push out new upgrades, scale up mobile fleets and empower staff to work anywhere, anytime. With hybrid work here to stay, businesses need a new approach that delivers on the potential of mobile devices without putting operations in harm's way. The solution? A robust mobile device strategy.
What is Device Strategy?
Device strategy is a holistic approach to mobile device monitoring and management that considers both hardware and software to create a comprehensive framework. Put simply, it's the process of understanding what devices are on your network, developing policies to manage these devices, and ensuring that the entire device ecosystem — from purchase and implementation to ongoing use and eventual destruction — is designed to limit overall risk.
Five Steps for Developing a Device Strategy
When it comes to developing a device strategy, the right approach matters. And while there's no one-size-fits-all approach, five common steps can help streamline the process.
1. Understand Your Audience
Who will be using these devices? Depending on the target audience, your strategy will shift. For example, if you're designing for front-line staff members, usability may be a priority while access to device features will be restricted. If you're building devices for managers and administrators, meanwhile, your design focus may shift to providing network and operational visibility.
2 Research Requirements
It's also important to research user requirements and design a device strategy that matches. For example, if users want a measure of control over their devices but are willing to cover some of the costs, a company-owned, personally enabled (COPE) strategy may be the best fit. If they're only using these devices for work, consider a company-owned, business-only (COBO) approach.
3. Anticipate Common Use Cases
What are the use cases for these devices? These may include the ability to access enterprise resources anywhere, anytime if staff are regularly working from home, or robust security measures if they're constantly traveling and want to ensure devices aren't compromised.
4. Develop a Timeline
How long will design and deployment take? Are you partnering with industry experts to create purpose-built mobile strategies, or opting for more generic mobile device management (MDM)? Consider the case of a customer-facing device such as an airline check-in kiosk. Here, the ideal device strategy combines security and speed to ensure personal travel data is processed safely and efficiently. In this case, generic MDM strategies may not be sufficient — instead, companies may be best served by working with industry leaders to define a clear timeline for implementation.
5. Set Realistic Expectations
Finally, make sure to set realistic expectations around the use of devices by staff. This includes clear security policies that describe both permitted actions and the consequences for failing to follow the rules.
What is Mobile Device Management?
Mobile device management refers to the administration of devices across a business network to ensure consistency in application and compliance with security. MDM solutions are typically deployed using a combination of IT policy and commercial software tools.
The right MDM can allow a business to develop a mobile device strategy that is purpose-built to meet your business needs. In effect, it's the next stage in the evolution of mobile management — by combining hardware and software platforms to create a unified device strategy, businesses can take control of their mobile environment from end to end.
Device Strategies for Businesses
When mobile devices first made their way into the workplace, many businesses opted for bring your own device (BYOD) strategies to help bridge the gap between in-office operations and remote work. But BYOD comes with natural limitations. Because users are the ultimate owners of the device, IT teams are limited in the scope and scale of MDM software they can install. While users will accept some level of control if they're using company networks — for example, the need to leverage virtual private networks (VPNs) for access and the requirement of having device activity within corporate networks tracked — they'll naturally push back against tools that provide companies complete access to their devices.
In response, new strategies have emerged, including:
- Company-owned, personally enabled (COPE)
COPE strategies see companies supplying mobile devices to staff. Some or all of the costs for these devices are absorbed by the organization, and IT teams gain more control over devices than in BYOD approach.
- Company-owned, business-only (COBO)
COBO strategies have businesses both supplying and fully controlling mobile devices. This not only improves overall security but allows devices to be shared among employees without increasing risk.
Why Mason is the Next Generation of Mobile Infrastructure for Organizations
Mason can help take your COPE and COBO strategies to the next level. Rather than simply purchasing commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) Android devices and then attempting to shoehorn them into current operations, Mason makes it possible for your team to build the ideal enterprise experience. Start with the device of your choice and build a custom Android OS. Then, leverage our SDKs to programmatically control both the hardware itself and the user experience (UX).
The result is a device that isn't just designed for you, but designed by you to deliver exactly the experience you want, the way you want it. And it doesn't stop there: Mason provides a wide variety of device options, from wearables to smartphones to 22" tablets — pick the device that best suits your needs. And with full access to the Android debug bridge (ADB), complete command over software updates, and application programming interfaces (APIs), you can manage your entire device fleet anytime, anywhere.
Ready for a new approach to device strategy? Make the most of your mobile environment with Mason.
