Every workplace is a blend of various roles, each with unique needs and responsibilities. Whether it’s the marketing team, the IT department, or remote employees, everyone requires specific tools, policies, and settings to do their best work.
But how do businesses manage their fleet of device inventory with this segregated workforce? One word comes to mind – Mobile Device Management Solutions. This story does not just end here with one answer. Managing numerous devices fragmented in different departments is another challenge for IT teams.
In this blog post, we will understand how IT teams can seamlessly manage business devices using groups and subgroups on Scalefusion MDM.
What Are Groups and Sub-Groups on Scalefusion MDM
In Scalefusion MDM, device groups enable admins to efficiently manage Android, Windows, Mac, and iOS devices by organizing them based on criteria such as type, department, or location. These groups facilitate bulk actions, allowing administrators to reboot all devices, refresh devices to reapply policies, and set or change profiles across all devices within the group. Additionally, group administrators can be created and assigned to manage specific groups, ensuring streamlined operations.
Sub-groups add another layer of assortment, allowing for further segmentation based on specific needs. They inherit settings from their parent groups but can also have unique policies tailored to their requirements. This hierarchical structure enhances control and operational efficiency, making it easier to manage large numbers of devices with varied needs. Creating and managing these groups and sub-groups ensures that all devices are appropriately configured, secure, and up-to-date.
In Scalefusion, groups and subgroups let you organize devices into a clear hierarchy, making it easier to manage and apply policies to multiple devices at once. This setup is different from device profiles, which are specific configurations set for individual devices to control their behavior. By using groups and subgroups, administrators can efficiently handle large numbers of devices with consistent policy enforcement and simplified management.
Key Features of Groups and Sub-Groups in Scalefusion
Let’s understand the different types of features of groups and sub-groups. By analyzing these types you can also understand the key difference between groups and subgroups in MDM.
1. Efficient Device Management
Organization by Criteria: Devices can be grouped based on various criteria such as type (Android, Windows, Mac, iOS), department, or geographic location. IT team can further categorize these groups based on locked or unlocked, managed or unmanaged devices, licensed or unlicensed devices, and waiting for activation devices. This categorization allows administrators to manage devices systematically, ensuring that each group receives appropriate settings and policies.
2. User Groups and Device Groups
Managing User Groups and Device Groups: On the Scalefusion dashboard, administrators can create and manage both user groups and device groups. User groups are used to manage user-based settings and policies, while device groups focus on device-specific configurations and policies. This dual-group feature provides flexibility and granular control, ensuring that both users and devices receive the appropriate settings and restrictions.
Also read: How to Create Dynamic Device Groups Using Scalefusion MDM
3. Bulk Actions
Reboot Devices: Administrators can reboot all devices within a group simultaneously. This is particularly useful for applying critical updates or resolving widespread issues without needing to address each device individually.
Refresh Policies: On the Scalefusion dashboard, the Refresh Policies feature is your go-to for ensuring that all devices in a group stay compliant with the latest settings. It re-applies all existing policies, making sure every device is up-to-date with the current configurations, maintaining consistency across your fleet.
Set/Change Profiles: Device profiles, which define the settings and restrictions for devices, can be applied or modified across all devices in a group. This ensures that all devices in a group adhere to the same standards and policies.
Shutdown Devices: Remotely power off devices to save energy or secure them when not in use.
Clear Browser Cache: Clear the cache on all devices within a group to ensure optimal performance and resolve browsing issues.
Remove CA Certificates: With this feature, IT admins can remove Certificate Authority (CA) certificates from all devices in a group.
Rename Devices: Simplify device identification by renaming devices in bulk according to a standard naming according to departments, subdepartments, and role-based teams.
Add New Users: Efficiently add new users to all devices within a group to streamline user management.
4. Delegated Administration
Group Administrators: You can easily create and assign group administrators to manage specific groups, lightening the administrative load and ensuring group-specific issues are handled smoothly. You have the flexibility to add or remove group admins, assign them specific roles such as read and write access, and see their email IDs on the dashboard. This setup ensures that each group is managed efficiently, keeping operations running seamlessly.
5. Enhanced Control with Sub-Groups
Inheritance and Customization: Sub-groups are an extension of the main groups, inheriting the settings of their parent groups. However, they can also have their unique policies, allowing for a more granular and tailored management approach.
Sub-Group Management: Administrators can view and manage sub-groups easily, providing an additional layer of organizational structure. This is beneficial for large organizations with complex hierarchies and diverse device management needs. One of the most special features of the Scalefusion dashboard is a device group can have unlimited subgroups.
6. Operational Efficiency
Snapshot Feature: This feature provides a comprehensive overview of the group’s status, including details on device inventory, data usage, compliance violations, battery levels, and availability of storage. It helps administrators quickly assess the state of the group.
Device Listings: The group interface lists all devices within the group and allows for new devices to be added. This feature ensures comprehensive management and easy tracking of all devices.
7. Profile and Policy Management
View and Modify: Administrators can view the profiles and policies applied to a group and make necessary changes to ensure that all devices comply with organizational standards. This feature helps maintain consistency and security across all devices. IT teams can also add new devices or move the devices to different groups or subgroups.
8. Automation
Automation Rules: Scalefusion supports the definition of automation rules that automatically move devices to specific groups based on certain conditions.
Benefits of Groups and Sub-groups
Let’s take a quick look at what benefits groups and subgroups in MDM can offer to the IT teams.
- Improved organization: Grouping managed devices helps you to organize business devices in a logical way, which can make it easier to find and manage the devices you need.
- Increased efficiency: Groups and subgroups enable IT teams to automate many of the tasks that you would otherwise have to do manually, such as rebooting devices or refreshing policies.
- Simplified policy management: You can assign different policies to different groups and subgroups, which can help to ensure that your devices are configured correctly.
- Enhanced security: Groups and subgroups in MDM can help you improve the security of your devices with features like compliance violation or violation overview and apply specific security policies to them.
Practical Use Cases for Scalefusion Groups and Sub-Groups
Explore how Scalefusion’s groups and sub-groups can optimize device management across various industries, enhancing efficiency and control.
Education
Schools and universities can group devices by class, department, or campus location. IT administrators can apply specific policies for different educational levels, reboot devices during non-class hours, and ensure browsers are cache-free for optimal performance. Sub-groups allow further segmentation, such as devices for faculty versus students, ensuring tailored management and security.
Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI)
Financial institutions can organize devices by branch or department, ensuring stringent security policies and compliance standards. The lock and unlock feature can allow banking institutions to use the devices at specific times, further avoiding the misuse of sensitive financial data. Sub-groups can cater to specific roles, such as customer service versus executive staff, enhancing control and efficiency.
Healthcare
Hospitals can group devices by ward or specialty, ensuring devices meet the specific needs of different medical departments. Adding new users can allow hospitals to add new medical employees to a specific department or shift them to another section. Sub-groups can manage devices used in patient care versus administrative tasks, ensuring tailored configurations and enhanced security.
Retail
Retail chains can organize devices by store location or department, applying specific profiles for point-of-sale systems and inventory management devices. The inventory snapshot feature can provide detailed information to retail businesses about the overall availability of active devices. Sub-groups can further segment devices used by management and floor staff, optimizing functionality and control.
Unlock Efficient Device Management with Scalefusion
Embrace the power of Scalefusion’s groups and sub-groups to streamline your device management processes. By categorizing devices, automating tasks, and tailoring policies, you can enhance security, compliance, and operational efficiency across various industries. Experience the benefits of organized and efficient device management today.
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