Android device management is the process of securing, monitoring, configuring, and controlling Android devices used for business or organizational purposes. It allows IT teams to enroll devices, apply policies, manage apps, enforce security settings, track compliance, and remotely troubleshoot or wipe devices to protect company data and maintain operational control.
Key takeaways
Android device management helps businesses secure, control, and optimize Android devices at scale through centralized tools and policy-driven management.
- Definition: Android device management refers to the use of MDM or EMM platforms to configure, monitor, secure, and support Android devices from a centralized management console.
- Why It Matters: With widespread Android adoption in businesses, effective device management helps protect data, support compliance requirements, and keep device performance consistent across teams and locations.
- Core Capabilities: IT teams can remotely enroll devices, configure settings, deploy applications, enforce security policies, and monitor device health without requiring physical access to each device.
- Business Benefits: Android MDM improves productivity, reduces operational costs, minimizes downtime, and simplifies device lifecycle management through automation and centralized control.
- Security & Compliance: Features like encryption, remote wipe, access controls, and data loss prevention help safeguard sensitive information and support the security standards an organization has to meet.
Android devices have become an integral part of business operations, dominating the mobile OS world with a market share of around 71%, according to Statista¹. From communication to productivity apps, companies rely on Android OS devices to streamline processes and enhance employee efficiency.
However, managing a fleet of Android devices can be challenging, especially in terms of security and data protection. This is where Android device management comes into play. It refers to the set of tools and practices that enable businesses to secure and manage Android devices remotely.
This blog is a dedicated deep dive into the seas of Android device management. It will cover every aspect of managing Android devices for organizations and IT admins—the needs, the benefits, the features, and more. We will also touch upon the difference you can make by choosing the right mobile device management (MDM) solution, like Scalefusion, to manage an Android device fleet.
What is Android Device Management?
Android device management encompasses a range of solutions designed to manage and control Android devices within an organization. It involves configuring, monitoring, securing, and supporting these devices from a centralized platform, typically an enterprise mobility management (EMM) or an MDM platform.
Android mobile device management allows businesses to enforce policies, deploy applications, and ensure data protection across their Android device fleet. It also enables organizations to make their devices business-ready for diverse use cases.
Android Device Management vs Android Device Manager: What’s the Difference?
Two different things share almost the same name, and a search for one routinely returns the other. This article is about the enterprise discipline, not the consumer feature.
- Who it is for. Android Device Manager is what an individual uses to find, lock or erase their own phone. Android device management is what an IT administrator uses to run a fleet.
- Scope. One personal device tied to one personal Google account, versus hundreds or thousands of devices enrolled by an organization.
- What it controls. Locating and wiping a handset, versus enrollment, app delivery, configuration, security policy and compliance reporting — delivered through Android Enterprise, Google’s enterprise management program.
- Why neither replaces the other. Find-and-erase on a personal phone gives an IT team no way to configure a device or apply policy, and a management platform is not how an individual locates a misplaced handset.
Why Android Device Management is Essential for Businesses of All Sizes?
Android plays a crucial role in modern businesses. Due to the proliferation of Android devices in the workplace, organizational data, employee productivity as well as customer experience are heavily dependent on how the Android device is configured and how well it performs.
Some of the key reasons why Android device management is important include:
- Security: With the increase in cyber threats and data breaches, securing corporate data on Android devices has become a top priority for businesses. Android corporate device management allows IT administrators to implement robust security measures, such as password policies, encryption, and remote wiping of android devices, to safeguard sensitive information.
- Productivity: Android device management helps improve employee productivity by managing device settings and applications centrally. It ensures employees have access to the right tools and resources, allowing them to focus on their tasks without worrying about device-related issues. It also helps eliminate distractions and brings back the focus on where it matters most.
- Compliance: Several industries have strict regulations regarding data privacy and security. Android corporate device management enables businesses to adhere to these compliance requirements by enforcing necessary policies preventing data sharing and tracking device usage.
- Cost-efficiency: MDM for Android helps optimize device usage and reduces downtime, leading to cost savings for businesses. It streamlines device provisioning, app deployment, and troubleshooting, minimizing the need for costly manual interventions.
Benefits of Using Android Device Management
Mobile device management solution for Android offers several advantages to businesses, making it an essential tool for managing company-owned devices in the workplace:
- Centralized Control: The Android device management tool provides a single, unified platform to manage all Android devices, regardless of their location. IT administrators can remotely configure settings, deploy updates, and enforce security policies from a central console, simplifying management tasks.
- Enhanced Security: With an Android EMM solution, businesses can implement robust security measures such as password policies, two-factor authentication, and encryption. In case of device loss or theft, administrators can remotely wipe corporate data to prevent unauthorized access.
- Increased Efficiency: Device management for Android streamlines device provisioning and application management, reducing the time and effort required for device setup. This, in turn, enhances employee productivity and ensures seamless onboarding for new hires.
- Customizable Policies: Android device management software allows businesses to create custom policies based on user roles, departments, or device types. This flexibility ensures that each device complies with the specific requirements of its designated user.
- Remote Troubleshooting: Android remote device management enables IT teams to diagnose and resolve device issues remotely. This feature saves a lot of time and reduces the overheads associated with on-site visits and physical troubleshooting, making it a cost-effective solution. Minimum downtime also improves customer experience when devices are in customer-facing business environments such as digital signage and self-service kiosks.
Features of Android Device Management
With the increasing adoption of Android devices, IT administrators face the critical task of managing, monitoring, and securing large device inventories. Let’s delve into the functions of Android device management from an IT admin’s perspective, exploring the essential aspects that empower them to manage multiple Android devices effectively.
1. Device Enrollment
With an Android device management tool, IT admins can enroll multiple devices through different Android enrollment methods. Some of the common enrollment methods for Android include Zero-touch, EMM, QR code, email, CSV, and Samsung KME, among others.
2. Device Configuration
Android device management app allows administrators to remotely configure device settings such as Wi-Fi, email accounts, VPN connections, and branding. This ensures that all devices are set up according to the organization’s standards, reducing the likelihood of configuration errors.
3. Application and Content Management
With Android device management, IT teams can centrally deploy, update, and remove applications and content on Android devices. App management simplifies the process of installing necessary business apps and ensures that all devices have the required software versions. Content management ensures employees have access to relevant information at the right time and in the right place.
4. Security Policy Enforcement
Android MDM empowers businesses to enforce security policies across all managed devices. This includes setting up password requirements, enabling encryption, and defining access control rules to protect sensitive data.
5. Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
DLP is a security strategy to prevent data leaks via unauthorized access or distribution of sensitive information. Android enterprise device management enables organizations to execute DLP policies on devices as per business needs. For instance, as per DLP policy, Android device management software allows administrators to trigger a remote lock and wipe action, erasing all corporate data from the device while locking it. This feature helps safeguard confidential information and maintain data integrity.
6. Geofencing and Location Tracking
Geofencing enables administrators to set up virtual boundaries on a map, and when a managed Android device enters or exits these predefined areas, specific actions can be triggered. Location tracking allows businesses to monitor the real-time location of devices, which can be beneficial for asset tracking, field service management, and enhancing employee safety.
7. Android Kiosk Mode
Kiosk mode restricts the Android device to a specific app or a set of applications, making it suitable for single-purpose use. Businesses can use kiosk mode for digital signage, interactive displays, or dedicated business applications, preventing unauthorized access to other device functions.
8. Web Content Filtering
Web content filtering enables organizations to control the websites and content that employees or other end users (like students) can access on their managed Android devices. By filtering out potentially harmful or non-business-related content, companies and educational institutes can enhance productivity and protect their network from security threats.
9. Automated Workflows
Mobile device management for Android helps businesses maintain compliance with industry regulations and internal policies. IT administrators can monitor device compliance through automated workflows, ensuring that devices adhere to security standards, software updates, and other relevant requirements. Automated workflows also save the time consumed in performing repetitive IT tasks.
10. Google Play Protect API
Google Play Protect API allows IT admins to check device integrity, compliance, security, and compatibility by analyzing firmware and hardware info on devices that run work apps from Google Play Store. The API looks for the device in the Android compatibility testing list and checks the software and firmware for integrity. Thus, IT admins can keep a tab on whether or not a device has been modified/tampered with.
Overview of Scalefusion Android Device Management
Scalefusion is an Android device management platform. From one dashboard, IT teams enroll Android devices, apply device profiles, deploy and update apps, set security policy, and act on devices remotely.
Scalefusion is an Android Enterprise Gold Partner. On Android, its management spans enrollment, configuration, security policy, monitoring and remote support.
1. Centralized Management
Scalefusion’s web-based dashboard provides a centralized platform for managing all Android devices in the enterprise. IT administrators can access and configure settings, deploy applications, and enforce policies from a single console, making device management more efficient and streamlined.
2. Simplified & Versatile Onboarding
Scalefusion’s easy enrollment methods, including QR code, out-of-the-box (OOB), and Zero-touch enrollment, simplify the onboarding process for new devices, saving time and effort for IT teams. Scalefusion supports the entire range of Android device enrollment, including COPE and AMAPI BYOD (agentless enrollment). Thus, enrollment of Android devices is quick and all-inclusive.
3. Improved Security
Scalefusion applies security policy to managed Android devices, can require encryption, and supports remote wipe. What a wipe removes depends on how the device is enrolled: on a work profile, it removes corporate data and leaves personal data intact. That reduces exposure if a device is lost or stolen.
4. Real-time Monitoring and Reporting
Scalefusion’s DeepDive analytics provides real-time monitoring and reporting on device performance, compliance status, and security issues. This data empowers IT administrators to identify and address potential problems proactively.
5. Remote Cast and Control with VoIP
Remote Cast & Control lets IT admins view — and on supported devices control — a managed Android device to troubleshoot it without travelling to it, which helps reduce downtime and on-site visit costs. Scalefusion documents this feature as available only in the Enterprise plan, which is $6 per device per month; trial accounts can request access. VoIP calling within a remote session is documented for Android.
6. Shared Android Device Management
In scenarios where multiple employees share the same Android device, Scalefusion’s shared Android device management allows IT administrators to apply group-based device sharing. This ensures that each user has access to the required work apps, settings, and data, promoting a personalized and secure experience on shared Android devices.
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FAQs
1. What is Android mobile device management (MDM)?
Android mobile device management (MDM) is the practice of configuring, securing and monitoring an organization’s Android devices from a central console. Administrators enroll devices, apply policies, distribute apps and act on devices remotely. On Android it is implemented through Android Enterprise, Google’s enterprise management program. It is distinct from Android Device Manager, the consumer feature for finding a personal phone.
2. How do you set up Android device management?
To set up MDM on Android, choose an MDM solution compatible with Android devices, enroll devices through a secure method like QR codes or tokens, and configure policies for security, application management, and compliance through the MDM console. Ensure devices are provisioned with necessary settings and regularly monitor and manage them remotely using the MDM solution.
3. What is a fully managed Android device?
A fully managed Android device is a mobile device that is tightly controlled and configured by an enterprise’s MDM solution. It allows organizations to enforce security policies, deploy applications, and manage device settings remotely for enhanced control and compliance within an enterprise mobility framework.
4. What is the cost of Android MDM?
Scalefusion’s Android MDM starts at $2 per device per month for the Essential tier, billed annually only, with a minimum of 10 total devices. Growth, Business and Enterprise tiers are $3.50, $5 and $6 per device per month, and some capabilities — including Remote Cast & Control — are available only in the Enterprise plan. Check scalefusion.com/pricing for current figures.
5. How to manage Android Devices?
Managing Android devices is easy with an Android Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution like Scalefusion. Here’s how:
- Enroll Devices: Add devices using methods like QR codes or zero-touch enrollment.
- Configure Settings: Customize Wi-Fi, email, VPN, and other settings remotely.
- Deploy Apps: Install and update apps across all devices.
- Enforce Security: Apply policies like password requirements, encryption, and remote wipe.
- Monitor & Support: Track device performance and troubleshoot remotely.
With Scalefusion, you can securely manage Android devices and enhance productivity.
