Just a few years ago, allowing mobile devices at work was optional. Businesses wrote a “bring your own device” policy, and not allowing employees to bring their own device was a reasonable choice.

That’s no longer the case; even before the pandemic pushed workers out of the office, allowing mobile devices to access work resources was necessary to business success. In order to make the mobile computing productive and effective, businesses need management and controls to help with provisioning, ensure secure usage, and provide users with the support they need.

Provisioning Mobile Device Users

Challenge:

Although users may bring their own devices, the business still has a significant role in provisioning them for business use. Only safe devices should be allowed to connect to the corporate network. In addition, users need to be set up with the business apps they need for work, which for safety should be downloaded from a company app store. User identities may need to be granted different privileges when working remotely than when working from corporate premises.

Solution:

Provide a help desk/provisioning service that leverages mobile device management software. This allows the business to ensure that only up-to-date devices can connect to the network and that they access resources safely.

Making Mobile Device Usage Safe

Challenge:

Mobile device usage presents a number of security risks. The small screens make it more difficult for users to recognize dangerous urls, so they may be more likely to click on phishing links. Users may use unsafe WiFi networks. Unless users enable passwords and lock screens, a lost device can expose all the information on it.

Solution:

Require mobile devices to connect via VPN to ensure communications are encrypted. Use mobile device management software to enforce security policies such as use of passwords and lock screens, and to wipe data from lost devices.

Providing Mobile Device Support

Challenge:

Employees working on mobile devices need support when they run into problems. These can be routine administrative tasks, such as resetting a password, or problems that require specific knowledge of how a business application behaves on a specific mobile device.

Solution:

Provide users with a mobile help desk to support all mobile help needs. Mobile device management software can restrict the types of operating systems and platforms that can connect, allowing the help desk team to be trained in how the business’ applications function on those devices.

Prescient Solutions offers comprehensive mobile services that ensure mobile device users have the support they need to access corporate resources safely from any location. Contact Prescient Solutions to learn more about making mobile computing secure and productive for your business.