How to Make Mobile Device Management Less Painful for Your Business

If you allow your team to bring their mobile devices to work and use them for work purposes, you’re aware of the challenging nature of integrating devices like smartphones and tablets into the work environment. They allow employees to keep up with their email and stay productive while away from their desk, but they also present a security challenge that’s not so easily fixed. How can your business address the potential issues regarding these devices?

As is the case with any investment in a great new tool, mobile devices present a risk that shouldn’t be enough to shy you away from it. Instead, embrace this technology for the greater good of your organization. Here are three ways you can help protect your business from the dangers involved with mobile devices, and how you can better leverage your mobile devices to increase your bottom line.

Virtual Private Networks (VPN)
Your remote employees might find themselves in a conundrum when they need to access the company network securely, especially if they’re in a location that’s not known for having a secure wireless access point. Hotel WiFi and connections found in public places could potentially be littered with malware, and you want to avoid having these threats jump into your network. This is why a Virtual Private Network is ideal for remote workers. They’ll be able to access the network remotely and securely without any hassle.

Wipe Devices Remotely
If employees are bringing their devices to work with them, there’s a good chance that they’ll probably wind up with some company data on them, regardless of how proactive you are about limiting it. Smartphones in particular are easy to steal, and hackers will take advantage of every avenue they can to compromise your information. You need a way to remotely wipe the data stored on your employee’s devices if they’re using them for work purposes.

Whitelisting and Blacklisting Apps
There are a ton of applications available for smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices, but not all of them are good for your business. Apps like games, social media apps, and others can be detrimental to the success of your business. Granted, if the devices are owned by the employee, you can only have so much control over them. One solution is supplying the devices yourself and paying for them, which means you have as much control over the device as the employee does, if not more. Another reason you don’t want employees to download just any application is because some of them are notorious for requesting ridiculous permissions that are completely unnecessary, like flashlight apps needing access to your physical location. You need the ability to whitelist and blacklist apps that have access to corporate data stored on devices.

k_Street Consulting, LLC understands the pain points your business experiences when trying to take full advantage of mobile devices. We want to help you get the best return on your investment for your mobile device management, and for you to attain the highest sense of security possible. Give us a call at (202) 640-2737 to learn more.