Managed Mobility – 5 Things to Know

Managed mobility is becoming a “buzzword” among enterprises, as more employees are using tablets, smartphones and other mobile devices. That means there is even more to manage with telecom assets and service plans, which is falling on the shoulders of IT.

Gartner released a report in October 2015 that talked in depth about managed mobility services (MMS) and how the market has grown. In the report, Magic Quadrant for Managed Mobility Services, Worldwide, Gartner describes how managed mobility services include the IT and business processes that are necessary in planning, procuring, provisioning, activating, managing and supporting mobile devices, services management systems and more.

There are a few things you should know about managed mobility, which are included in our list below.

1. Mobility within enterprises is becoming more complex each day.

The number of mobile devices is growing exponentially within enterprises, which is broadening the range of corporate-owned assets that must be controlled within the company. Turnover within an organization can also cause a significant problem in managing and controlling service plans and existing assets. For these reasons, the demand for managed mobility services has gone up in recent years.

2. Enterprises are taking different approaches to managed mobility.

Managing mobility within an enterprise can take up a lot of resources, often involving multiple departments, such as IT, finance and HR. Some enterprises are able to absorb this work internally—however, it has been estimated that fewer than half of organizations handle managed mobility in-house. The rest of the enterprises utilize MMS or some type of combined method.

3. Mobile device management falls under the MMS category.

If your enterprise is considering outsourcing managed mobility, it is important to understand some key terms. As already described, MMS encompasses the IT and business processes involved in mobile management. Mobile device management is under the umbrella of MMS and gives enterprises a way to better manage, monitor and secure all devices. Typically, this mobile device management is done through a cohesive software solution.

4. Knowing what you own is the first step in managed mobility.

“You can’t manage what you don’t know you own,” is a common statement we make at Softeligent. Unless you have an inventory of your mobile assets, there is really no way to properly manage it. Taking it a step further, there also needs to be an up-to-date inventory of service contracts, so you know what expenses you have. Managed mobility services are great at addressing this step.

5. MMS providers come in many forms.

There are various types of MMS providers in the market today, including communications service vendors (i.e. AT&T), independent consultants and telecom expense management companies. These providers also offer a range of MMS services—from managed to unmanaged to a hybrid approach. We would encourage you to view our 10-Point Checklist to help you make the right decision in selecting a provider.