Benefits of Pairing Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) and Device Management Programs

What are the implications of losing an employee-owned mobile deviceOpens a new window ? A large financial and security riskOpens a new window for the business. Josh Garrett, Chief Strategy Officer, Tangoe shares how you can enhance enterprise mobile security by pairing unified endpoint management and device management platforms together.

2020 has proven to be a challenging year for businesses across all industries. From a mass shift to remote work environments to digitizing nearly all business functions in what seems like just yesterday, we are continuing to adapt to this “new normal.”

Despite all the new changes employees have experienced in the last few months, one thing that has not changed has been how employees can still lose track of their possessions. Whether it is a wallet, car keys, or even a mobile device, losing something is never easy can be a pain point for everyone.

However, what if something like a company-owned mobile device is lost? Not only would that be an issue for the employee, but if the device Opens a new window is attached to an enterprise’s network, server or shared drives, the seemingly “normal” inconvenience then turns into a serious business and financial risk — opening the door to numerous security issues.

Adding to that, if bad actors get a hold of a company-owned mobile device, the business becomes vulnerable to having their network hackedOpens a new window — either through traditional methods, where hackers use the device as a backdoor into a network or through more insidious means: social engineering hacking.

With social engineering, hackers Opens a new window find discrete ways to target a company by using information pulled from a device. For example, a hacker could read the stolen device’s text messages and learn the employee who owns the device worked in the advertising department and was currently financing a large ad campaign. The hacker could then email the company’s finance department and, by referencing the known ad campaign, could request an immediate wire transfer to “support advertising efforts.”

And the risks don’t end with just payouts to hackers. Every business is aware of the massive implications of being hacked: financial costs, including regulatory fines and lost revenue; stolen intellectual property; and damaged reputation and loss of customer trust — making it critical to be able to keep track of, and control, all company-owned devices.

Learn More: Endpoint Protection Can Secure Agile WorkforceOpens a new window

So How Can Companies Do This?

One way to do this is by pairing a unified endpoint managementOpens a new window (UEM) solution (i.e. AirWatch, MobileIron, etc.) with a device management program, which further closes the gaps in lost-device procedures. Here’s how it works:

Let’s say an employee loses their device returning home from a work trip, and accidentally leaves the device at the airport restroom. It can take some time before they realize they no longer have their device on them, and ultimately alert their company’s IT department. If a company only has a UEMOpens a new window program in place, the employee will alert the IT team about the missing device, who then alerts the UEM provider, who can then wipe the device remotely. While the UEM program is helpful in this scenario, the overall time between alerting the IT department to the mobile device wipe can take hours or more, and time is of the essence when a device is lost.

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However, when a UEM platform is paired with a device management program (DMP), the employee can utilize the DMP software to cut out some of the middlemen and immediately send a lost-device alert. This activates several workflows, one of which is an API that pushes to the UEM solution to fire off a device wipe.

Not only does this combined effort protect the device’s security, it also enables other workflows to initiate lost-device processes like ordering new hardware, transferring any licenses and apps associated with the lost hardware, and so on. Rather than these being separate items that need to be checked off as individual transactions, multiple workflows can be occurring instantaneously and simultaneously, through a combination of APIs and bots.

In addition, DMPs provide an extra layer of compliance to ensure that all devices registered in the platform are also registered in the UEM platform,Opens a new window and vice versa. Providing a cross-check of security ensures that unintended outliers do not become Trojan horses within a security framework, negating the efforts and expense that comes with proper UEM implementations.

Combining UEM with DMP’s capabilities is a best-of-both-worlds practice that allows companies to control devices from both a security standpoint and a device management program standpoint. By adopting these types of proactive technologies today, businesses can rest assured that proper protocols are in place to prevent the business risk associated with losing a company-owned mobile device.

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