Staying in control of your IT can be hard enough during dull times. But we’ve learned that global pandemics tend to stomp on, set fire to, and throw normality out the window, replacing it with all the chaos. Since COVID-19, we’re not in Kansas anymore. So, what has COVID-19 also taught us about device configuration and management post-pandemic?

Why IT is Getting Wigglier as the World Turns

COVID-19 threw logistical problems at us, and we learned to work in new ways — firing off emails from our living rooms, dens, or cupboards under the stairs. We used our personal tablets and laptops for work. We learned that we could hire remotely, collaborate together (separately), and connect, despite the distances. We checked in with people who were sick. Feverishly we created BYOD and CYOD policies and practices. We dove into data security and found new ways to secure and share our work. 

This all sounds heroic, but how did we manage it all? Adopting, adapting, and scaling mobile device management (MDM) — that’s how. MDM earned its spurs as a business resilience tool, par excellence (‘scuse our French), by allowing us to configure and manage our devices, whatever the pandemic threw at us.

How MDM (Actually) Helped

Welcome to the world of MDM, where even the heaviest desktops can be tamed and corralled! With MDM, companies securely manage all their devices, ensuring compliance and quick onboarding for new hires.

• Consolidated: Managed all devices for company business, including personal devices, wherever they were located.
• Secured: Eliminated the risk of data theft and loss on every device.
• Efficient Onboarding: Quickly got new hires up and running.
• Compliant: Ensured personal devices met company security and compliance standards.
• Configured: Set up each device with necessary apps and access for job performance.
• Centralized: Provided real-time visibility and control through the IT asset register.

That’s right! MDM wasn’t just for mobile devices. On-premises, heavyweight desktops double-stapled to the floor became just as accessible to the power of MDM as smartphones, tablets, and laptops. 

Is Device Configuration and Management Different, Post-Pandemic?

Not different, but more visible and more normalized as a way of properly configuring and managing a fleet of remote devices. We learned that, whatever’s happening in the world, with a properly configured and deployed MDM platform, you’ll still be able to do the following:

1. Manage Everything Properly

With MDM, no device is left behind. MDM is designed to manage diverse devices in an inclusive, consistent, centralized way. 

MDM allows you to:

• Mass-enroll, manage and control company and privately-owned devices.
• Create, customize, and deploy security, access, and compliance policies in accordance with your company’s standards. 
• Ensure that all devices in your fleet conform to security requirements. No user can bypass security controls, even if they try really, really hard.
• Create a real-time, detailed inventory of all the devices in your fleet, including those privately owned: you’ll have details of the user, activity, status, location, RAM, age of the device, software versions and more.

2. Stay Secure

When your employees are geographically dispersed and trying to access work data with their personal devices, or those shared with their family, security is more likely to be compromised. Weak password composition, the ever-present risk of phishing and malware attacks, unpatched operating system versions, and uncontrolled use of removable media are only some of the security threats to worry about, and that’s before you add the risk of device loss or theft that might befall your on-the-road staff.

Luckily for your sanity, MDM has security covered. It’s easily configured with security policies that protect your entire fleet, such as: 

• User verification to ensure that the person accessing your company’s stuff is a real company employee and not someone who found the device in a dumpster.
• Automated drive encryption so that if the device is lost or stolen, your data won’t be.
• Remote device locking and data wiping —  handy when devices go AWOL. 
• Automatic recovery key generation so that you’ll always have access to the company data on each device.
• Enforced operating system updates. If your people want to use their personal devices for work, they’re guided (politely) to configure their devices with the latest operating system updates and security patches.
• Privileged access for third parties, such as outsourced payroll or consultants, who need access to your data or tools.
• Complex password enforcement, password-protected screen savers, inventory tracking, and other compliance controls will give your SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, or CMMC auditor nothing to complain about.

3. Customize Your Devices

MDM allows you to customize and individualize the apps, access, and resources for each employee so that they have exactly the right set of tools at their fingertips and aren’t overwhelmed by a barrage of apps that they don’t need, or have access to data that they shouldn’t see. This approach to IT is made possible through device configuration and management.

Your people have different roles, and, to enable them to do their jobs effectively and happily, their IT needs to fit them, not the other way around. For instance, your entire workforce might need access to Slack, but only your software development and compliance teams need access to your AWS VPC, while only your design people should get a crack at the pricey Adobe suite. MDM’s flexibility allows you to:

• Control and manage access to sensitive company data, such as staff personal information.
• Automatically push applications and security updates in bulk across your fleet or to selected users.

A Resilient Fleet Is A Happy Fleet

Using MDM to pandemic-proof your fleet isn’t as complex or expensive as you might think, considering the business-wide benefits it brings. Put simply, MDM hardwires business ops with the resilience, control, and flexibility every business needs, now that it has to be prepared for anything. 

Device configuration and management can be easier than you think. If MDM is something that you’d like to consider for your business, talk to us. No hard sell, no obligations, because we’re not that kind of team. We’re here to help.

Ignition is Silicon Valley’s best (and friendliest) IT security, compliance, and support team. Contact us now – chatting about IT support and cybersecurity is our favorite thing to do!