The Challenges of Mobile Device Management in a BYOD Culture

Office spaces are out, and Cloud business spaces are in! With so many businesses turning to cloud computing and remote-based services, there’s been a definite demand for high-quality mobile devices. And when a company has a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) culture, there’s a need for strategic mobile device management.

Why Businesses Need Mobile Device Management Systems

The reason good mobile device management strategies are in high demand is because employees can become wary about using their personal devices for business activities. There are all sorts of privacy issues involved, and of course, employees might not want additional individuals having access to their personal communications. Much the same, businesses don’t want sensitive information being accessed or shared from private devices used for business purposes.

Cloud technology is going nowhere, and because of the convenience of being able to work on the go, BYOD business cultures are not about to change. The simple fact is that often, employees are going to need to use their personal devices for business purposes. The only answer is to come up with mobile device management solutions that are optimal for both employer and employee.

What makes for a “good” mobile device management strategy and how does a company go about setting one in place? A good mobile device management strategy is one that focuses on two key areas: privacy and safety.

4 Steps to Implementing a Decent Mobile Device Management System

Below are four steps to implementing a mobile device management system that keeps employees satisfied without compromising on business processes and security.

Step 1: Draw up an “acceptable use” policy
Create a document that fully covers the guidelines for using a personal device at work. It should detail the device on-boarding process, passwords and device locks, network usage, encryption, backups, and even the process for device management when an employee leaves the employ of the company.

You cannot be thorough enough with an acceptable use policy, so take your time to ensure that you have covered all bases. You also need to ensure that you are constantly reminding your employees of how to securely use their own devices for work purposes. The acceptable use policy should be issued to every employee and displayed at the workplace.

Step 2: Choose apps and software that stores off-device
Some apps and software are essential to the functioning of your business. To protect sensitive data belonging to your business, opt for professional apps and software programs that store information and data in the cloud rather than on the device. This is probably one of the most important steps in a mobile device management process.

When installing apps on devices, it is important to ensure that passwords are generated for staff members, and it is a good idea to ensure that they expire and need to be re-assigned every month.

Step 3: Be strict about access restrictions
It might seem like a convenience to allow all employees to access all system settings and information shared in the cloud, but this is a serious security risk. Restrict employee access to areas that are essential to their core function and allow absolutely nothing else. This is not about trust between the company and employees, but more about avoiding the risk of accidental data breaches or employees being careless with their devices which can result in sensitive information making its way into the wrong hands.

Step 4: Partner with the right service provider
Managing mobile devices is something that needs to be done consistently. This means that you need to keep up to date with the latest systems and also need to be aware of the most recent risks that face your business.

Your chosen mobile device management service provider should have systems in place that can detect when something unauthorised or suspicious is happening on business accounts via employee devices. These systems can implement multi-phase security authorisation, detect the presence of malware and pick up on a variety of other suspicious activities or system access behaviours. The right mobile device management service provider will keep you informed of just how secure your devices and system are.

Last Word

At Soteria Cloud, we have encountered businesses that have fallen victim to the negative impact of a poor or non-existent mobile device management policy. If you want to protect your business, take the four steps above to implement a rock-solid mobile device management system that complements your business operations.