Is Mobile Device Management The Future of Charity Remote Operations?

What Are The Risks?

Cast your mind back before March - back to the days of the commute. Picture this:

 

You’re on the bus. You’re on your way home. It’s been another long day. You’ve finally finished everything you needed to do, and now you just want to sink into the sofa in front of some bad TV.

 

You get off at your stop, and as you’re walking up the street your hand reaches for your mobile. But finds nothing. It’s not there. It was there when you got on the bus, but now it’s gone. And the worst thing of all?

 

It’s your work mobile.

 

Can you remember what organisational data it might hold? What key charity systems you’re logged into? What confidential emails might be accessible?

 

Wouldn’t the simplest solution be to simply lock or wipe the device at the push of a button?

 

Enterprise Mobility Management May Hold The Key To Mobile Security

So how can charities enjoy the benefits of mobilisation whilst managing the potential security risks?

 

Mobile Device Management (MDM) can enable your organisation’s employees to work remotely and from multiple devices - without sacrificing security.

 

By using a type of software known as Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM), you can remotely manage your fleet of mobile devices; controlling what each handset can and can’t be used for.

 

This can include locking down devices for work purposes only, blacklisting apps such as Facebook and YouTube. This could be as specific as allowing devices to only be used for one thing.

 

You can also track the location of missing devices, set GeoFence locations and specify times when devices can be used outside of those locations. In short, Enterprise Mobility Management allows centralised control over a large number of mobile devices, regardless of where those devices are in the world. This can help organisations to save money. You can work out the potential savings for your charity by using an MDM ROI calculator.

 

EMM also prevents unauthorised access to apps or corporate data stored on mobile devices. This is accomplished through a number of features, including password protection, encryption, or even remote locking, blocking, and wiping of lost or stolen handsets to protect sensitive organisational or personal data.

 

If, for example, a device containing sensitive information was lost or stolen, an admin would be able to remotely lock and wipe a device, to ensure that data is uncompromised. EMM allows organisations to choose from multiple security measures, which means that you can take more or less severe measures depending on the potential severity of a given security threat. For example, if you thought it likely that you would be able to recover a device, you could simply lock the device - without having to wipe it. Then, if you did not recover the device, you could wipe it at a later time.

 

EMM allows organisations to take total control of their devices, whilst putting in place the requisite security measures to make sure that sensitive data is protected.

 

Choosing an Enterprise Mobility Management Vendor

The benefits of EMM have a far wider scope than the applications currently being used in most organisations. The technology, its applications and its offshoots are in a state of flux. The fragmentation of the EMM space is partially caused by the vast range of technologies available. Many organisations find the proliferation of MDM and EMM-adjacent technologies and services difficult to manage without the consolidation of these services with a sole partner.

 

eSecurity Planet has offered a framework for evaluating the key features of EMM vendors to ensure that they meet the mobility control and security needs of your charity. This framework drills down into three key components: Visibility, secure access and data protection.

 

TechTarget also offer a rundown of leading EMM providers in this increasingly crowded market. They survey a range of technologies, from more basic BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) offerings to IBM systems featuring AI and machine learning.

 

The technology could have a real impact on the charity sector. The flexibility afforded by a mobile workforce is well-suited to organisations who may heavily rely on volunteer or part-time labour. And the security measures that EMM helps put in place could be hugely beneficial in a sector that has experienced a number of high-profile data breaches.