Mobile device management is an industry term for the administration of mobile devices,
such as smartphones, tablets and laptops when linked to a corporate network.
Overview MDM functionality typically includes over-the-air
distribution of applications, data and configuration settings for all types of mobile devices,
including mobile phones, smartphones, tablet computers, ruggedized mobile computers, mobile
printers, mobile POS devices, etc.
This applies to both company-owned and employee-owned devices across the enterprise or mobile devices
owned by consumers.
Consumer Demand for BYOD is now requiring a greater effort for MDM and increased security
for both the devices and the enterprise they connect to, especially since employers and
employees have different expectations on the type of restrictions that should be applied
to mobile devices.
By controlling and protecting the data and configuration settings for all mobile devices
in the network, MDM can reduce support costs and business risks.
The intent of MDM is to optimize the functionality and security of a mobile communications network
while minimizing cost and downtime.
With mobile devices becoming ubiquitous and applications flooding the market, mobile monitoring
is growing in importance.
Numerous vendors help mobile device manufacturers, content portals and developers, test and monitor
the delivery of their mobile content, applications and services.
This testing of content is done real time by simulating the action of thousands of customers
and detecting and correcting bugs in the applications.
Companies are alarmed at the rate of employee adoption of mobile devices to access corporate
data.
MDM is now touted as a solution for managing corporate-owned as well as personal devices
in the workplace.
The primary challenge is the ability to manage the risks associated with mobile access to
data while securing company issued and BYOD mobile devices.
Implementation Typically solutions include a server component,
which sends out the management commands to the mobile devices, and a client component,
which runs on the handset and receives and implements the management commands.
In some cases, a single vendor may provide both the client and the server, in others
client and server will come from different sources.
The management of mobile devices has evolved over time.
At first it was necessary to either connect to the handset or install a SIM in order to
make changes and updates; scalability was a problem.
One of the next steps was to allow a client-initiated update, similar to when a user requests a
Windows Update.
Central remote management, using commands sent over the air, is the next step.
An administrator at the mobile operator, an enterprise IT data center or a handset OEM
can use an administrative console to update or configure any one handset, group or groups
of handsets.
This provides scalability benefits particularly useful when the fleet of managed devices is
large in size.
Device management software platforms ensure that end-users benefit from plug and play
data services for whatever device they are using.
Such a platform can automatically detect devices in the network, sending them settings for
immediate and continued usability.
The process is fully automated, keeps a history of used devices and sends settings only to
subscriber devices which were not previously set, sometimes at speeds reaching 50 over-the-air
settings update files per second.
Device management systems can deliver this function by filtering IMEI/IMSI pairs.
Device management specifications The Open Mobile Alliance specified a platform-independent
device management protocol called OMA Device Management.
The specification meets the common definitions of an open standard, meaning the specification
is freely available and implementable.
It is supported by several mobile devices, such as PDAs and mobile phones.
Smart message is text SMS-based provisioning protocol
OMA Client Provisioning is a binary SMS-based service settings provisioning protocol.
Nokia-Ericsson OTA is binary SMS-based service settings provisioning protocol, designed mainly
for older Nokia and Ericcson mobile phones.
Over-the-air programming capabilities are considered a main component of mobile network
operator and enterprise-grade mobile device management software.
These include the ability to remotely configure a single mobile device, an entire fleet of
mobile devices or any IT-defined set of mobile devices; send software and OS updates; remotely
lock and wipe a device, which protects the data stored on the device when it is lost
or stolen; and remote troubleshooting.
OTA commands are sent as a binary SMS message.
Binary SMS is a message including binary data.
Mobile device management software enables corporate IT departments to manage the many
mobile devices used across the enterprise; consequently, over-the-air capabilities are
in high demand.
Enterprises using OTA SMS as part of their MDM infrastructure demand high quality in
the sending of OTA messages, which imposes on SMS gateway providers a requirement to
offer a high level of quality and reliability.
Use in the enterprise As the bring your own device approach becomes
increasingly popular across mobile service providers, MDM lets corporations provide employees
with access to the internal networks using a device of their choice, whilst these devices
are managed remotely with minimal disruption to employees' schedules.
SaaS versus On-Premises solutions Present day MDM solutions offer both Software
as a Service and on-premises models.
In the rapidly evolving industry such as mobile, SaaS systems are quicker to set up, offer
easier updates with lower capital costs compared to on-premises solutions which require costly
hardware, need regular software maintenance, and incur higher capital costs.
For security in Cloud computing, the US Government has compliance audits such as Federal Information
Security Management Act of 2002 which cloud providers can go through to meet security
standards.
In addition, FedRAMP is the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program.
This program is an innovative policy approach to developing trusted relationships between
Federal agencies and cloud service providers.
The program is designed to be compliant with FISMA.
See also The SyncML Initiative
OMA Device Management Open Mobile Alliance
Device Management Forum Over-the-air programming
Mobile application management Mobile security
Enterprise mobility management References
^ What is mobile device management?
- a definition from Whatis.com ^ A comprehensive article on mobile device
management ^ BYOD Consumer Demand and Information Security
^ Ellis, Lisa, Jeffrey Saret, and Peter Weed.
"BYOD: From company-issued to employee-owned devices".
Telecom, Media & High Tech Extranet: No. 20 Recall.
Retrieved 15 May 2014.
^ "BYOD Requires Mobile Device Management".
Information Week.
^ "A Playbook for Fighting Apple and Google".
Reuters. 15 March 2011.
^ "What Is OMA DM?".
^ http:www.sms-wiki.org/p_65-binary-sms.html ^ See https:cio.govfedramp/
External links Solution guide: Manage mobile devices and
PCs by migrating to Configuration Manager with Windows Intune
Solution guide: Mobile device management for Configuration Manager 2007 customers planning
to migrate to System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager
System Center Configuration Manager TechNet Library
Windows Intune TechNet Library Open Mobile Alliance Device Management Public
Documentation How mobile device management works