How to Choose Mobile Device Management (MDM) for Your Small Business

Choosing a mobile device management (MDM) for a small business can make or break the effectiveness of IT operations: choosing overly-complex tools can slow down operations and increase overheads, while conversely, overly simplified tools may lack vital features and lead to gaps.

This guide explains the factors you should be aware of when selecting the right MDM for your small business.

What small businesses and startups actually need from MDM

The specific MDM features you need will depend on how your business operates and how your staff uses their devices to be productive.

Small businesses and startups often rely on staff utilizing their own devices at work (bring your own device, or BYOD), as well as company devices. This requires a flexible MDM solution that allows for varying levels of control, as staff will generally not want to give up ownership of their personal devices. This also means that MDM needs to support a varied array of devices, as they won’t be part of a consistent fleet.

One of the primary purposes of MDM is to ensure the security of company data on devices through encryption and features like remote lock and remote wipe. These policies should be simple to configure so that it is clear that data is properly protected.

Key factors when choosing MDM for a small team

This doesn’t mean enterprise-grade solutions aren’t suitable for small teams. Increasingly, enterprise-grade MDM solutions are recognizing the importance of features that small businesses look for in IT tools: simplicity and clear interfaces, but with extensive enterprise-grade customization and automation options available under the hood.

1. Ease of use and setup

Small teams have limited additional resources for IT tasks. MDM should be simple to set up and fast to deploy to new devices. Clear interfaces should allow for devices to be enrolled, and secure-by-default configurations should be included to act as the basis of your own standardized deployments.

While zero-touch enrollment is a benefit for small businesses, it is not a necessity, as devices are not as frequently added in large quantities as in larger enterprise environments.

2. Device and platform support

It’s not just the devices your business supplies to staff – many users like to stay connected to their workplace from their own devices – and some businesses leverage users’ own devices to save costs on supplying company-issued tech. Your chosen MDM should support the devices your users rely on, including Windows, macOS, Android, and Apple mobile devices.

3. Automation and policy control

Automation provides two major advantages: it reduces the work required to configure devices, and enforces the consistent application of those configurations, helping to remove gaps. Ongoing monitoring can ensure that devices do not drift from these secure configurations or fall out of management.

Security technologies that small businesses need to enforce include device encryption, authorization, firewalls, and anti-malware. Many businesses may also want to implement additional security measures, such as preventing users from connecting to unknown networks or installing unsanctioned software.

4. Affordability, cost, and pricing structure

Balancing features with price can be difficult: adopting a free MDM solution with limited features may save money now, but could lead to increased costs later when device management fails, or a more feature-rich solution needs to be adopted and rolled out.

Per-device or per-user pricing makes sense for smaller teams looking for affordable solutions, and scales with your business. Carefully assess the pricing models of different MDM platforms, as hidden costs in per-feature licenses can quickly accumulate.

5. Scalability

Support is key to scalability. Self-service documentation and tutorials that are backed by customer service agents can help make sure you are getting the most out of your MDM investment.

Choosing an MDM platform that lets you start simple but also includes advanced features, and/or other integrated IT tools like remote monitoring and management (RMM), helpdesk, documentation, and remote support has long-term advantages. Rather than having to switch to a more feature-rich platform later, you can simply take advantage of these additional features as you need them.

6. Reporting and alerts

The success of MDM hinges on its ability to maintain an inventory of your devices and notify you if they fall out of compliance with your established policies. This allows your team to get on with their primary job roles without having to actively check dashboards and monitor devices themselves.

Choosing an easy-to-use MDM for your small business

NinjaOne unifies MDM with other key IT tools, including RMM, inventory, documentation, and remote access. It integrates with popular cybersecurity tools, and provides a consolidated, streamlined interface for managing configurations, security policies, and deployment of MDM to all your devices.

NinjaOne pricing is flexible and per-device, so it can scale with your business as it grows.