BYOD and MDM
It is an old story now that mobile technologies are becoming integral parts of enterprises at a very fast pace. Mobile workforce that is based on BYOD now is a little unsure if MDM is the best solution for managing the multiple devices. The common say being MDM software could be problematic when it comes to managing devices in the BYOD and thus it preferable to find a solution that would be controlling the devices under a corporate management policy.
The Mobile device management software solutions when implemented on the personal devices of the employees might not be welcomed as many features of the phone like camera or some of the paid apps could be disabled or deleted. This trait would surely frustrate the user of the Bring Your Own Device principle of the company. Thus the IT team might be blamed for ruining the functionalities of the phone which is the employees’ personal device. MDM could be blamed for the interference in the personal device management.
The MDM solution is often considered as a early 1980’s concept due to its traditional station management paradigm. And the reason for a revolt with respect to MDM is mainly due to acquisition of the device from the IT department. This intrusion would frustrate the employee to his/her favorite feature being disabled in order to stick to the policy norms of the employer management. With this strategy, it is bound to annoy the employer and also convert a BYOD device to the by-gone corporate phone. Hence in order to make up for the inconveniences caused by the MDM softwares, an alternative method of managing BYOD devices has entered the picture.
What is MAM?
MAM is Mobile application management. Though MDM and MAM share a similar functionality, the later is specific to only applications that reside on the device instead of the entire device on the whole. This was a more pacifying solution with respect to the user perspective. With the MAM principle, the IT department will not be accused of creating havoc in the personal devices. This would only lock down those specific applications related to the corporate world. Rest of the applications will be untouched. Thus the user can boast of his desired features on the Smartphone. This principle is patronized by the iPhone and android users as it is these models that are used excessively as BYOD devices. Even in case the user is no more a part of the company the data specific to that firm can be wiped out remotely without hampering the personal data. MAM application vendors specialize in writing secure versions of the apps specific to the corporate firm.
However, if MAM solved all the limitations of the MDM the controversy still goes on. The MAM vendors still are yet to reach the creativity levels with respect to the apps they write. Often the users having a MAM check on their devices are deprived of downloading apps from the official app stores like iphone stores or Google play. MAM software cannot reach in between the device and the real app store and for this main reason several users and corporate firms do not endorse MAM.
With the decision of the MxM selection left to the enterprises, the BYOD principle has still a long way to go in order to function as a errorless mainstream ownership model. The model is still valid as it can function the desired way without any MxM solutions to protect the BYOD principle.
About Endeavour Software Technologies:
Since 2002, Endeavour – The Mobility Company, has remained focused on strategic mobile consulting & mobile application development, Android Application Development, iPad Application Development, Endeavour’s strategic consulting practice brings best mobility practices and has helped large organizations and fortune 500 companies with articulating their enterprise mobility strategies and implementation roadmaps. Endeavour’s expertise spans across all mobile operating platforms including the big 4 – Android application development, iPhone Application development, BlackBerry application development, and Windows Phone development.
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