Generally, MDM, EMM, and UEM are the terms that are interchangeably used when it comes to managing mobile devices by enterprises.
The modern enterprise is continuously on the go. It is a thing of the past when all the employees were working collectively at one place, using the same PC for a long period of time. Today, a large number of employees work remotely, and many of them use multiple devices like laptops including hybrid ones, tablets, and smartphones which are of different makes and different operating systems. Organizations are in fact more concerned about the remote employees who are consistently on the go as they are key to its success and it is equally important to provide them the laptops and handheld devices.
As the number of such employees increases, sensitive, confidential and proprietary data spreads outside the office premises. Hence, it’s extremely important for the organization to implement a solution that proactively manages the device that improves efficiency & productivity.
MDM
Effective mobile device management gives the organization secured control over data, devices & applications along with the flexibility to the employees using those devices. These devices are the mobile devices provided by the company – termed COSU. And, Mobile Device Management (MDM) is a software application used by the IT division of the organization to monitor, manage, control & secure all these mobile devices used for work. MDM solutions cater differently to different devices of different make and operating systems.
As mobile technology advanced and smartphones got smarter, employees started owning devices that were, in fact, more advanced giving a better user experience than the device provided by the organization. This drove a change in the policy adopted by the companies, they adopted to BYOD (bring-your-own-device) policy. In BYOD policy, employees can use their own devices for work purposes and companies now were compelled to apply data security and application control on them. Thus, limitations of MDM got apparent when employees own the device but use it for work purposes. This is because the MDM solution functions at the device level.
EMM
Thus, as mobility paced ahead, it also transformed the way we worked and lived, technology began to get complex and platforms complicated. As a result, MDM solutions transformed into Enterprise Mobility Management(EMM) Solution which included features and security encompassing both companies owned as well as employees’ personal devices.
Enterprise Mobility Management is a comprehensive solution to secure and manage the smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices which are brought into the enterprise environment by the employees. Again, the exponential increase in mobile apps, it generated innovative ways to collaborate and access enterprise resources irrespective of time and place. Thus, now the focus was not only to control and supervise the devices but also to maximize the productivity of the office-based and remote workforce with stringent security.
EMM solution extended the IT capabilities at the application and information level, generally deployed with MDM (Mobile Device Management), MAM (Mobile Application Management), MCM (Mobile Content Management), Location tracking, and enhanced Security Management.
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UEM
Again, with the increasing types of end-user devices, called – endpoints, its management and security assurance evolved to Unified Endpoint Management (UEM). Today, endpoints in an enterprise include a wide range of devices & operating systems starting from desktops to wearables and even IoT devices. However, UEM is just not about granting or denying access but it includes device management, device security, access control, user management, app delivery, and its update.
To sum up, UEM is the recent incarnation of software applications to manage, monitor, secure & control every kind of end-user mobile device in the enterprise environment. It has evolved from Mobile Device Management to Enterprise Mobility Management and now to UEM. This evolution is focused solely on giving freedom to the users for using their own devices and to the company’s assurance that their employees access enterprise data, apps, and other resources under a secured environment.
Scalefusion is an MDM solution for iOS and Android devices, consistently innovating to develop a holistic UEM solution in the immediate future.
After Android and iOS, Scalefusion has now introduced MDM for Windows devices. Now you can efficiently manage your corporate-owned iOS, Android, and Windows 10 devices from a Unified Dashboard.
