What is remote device management?
Learn what Remote Device Management (RDM) is and about RDM tools like mobile device management.
Remote device management (RDM) allows for IT admins to support and maintain their device fleet without being in physical contact with a given device. This can include desktops, laptops, phones, tablets and other Internet of Things. Admins might use RDM to update apps or operating systems, enforce policies or manage accounts.
Let’s go over a couple RDM tools.
Mobile device management (MDM)
Mobile device management is powerful RDM tool that gives admins the ability to:
- Keep devices and apps up to date
- Deploy apps
- Enforce security policies and settings
- Keep track of device information and status
With MDM, admins can keep their devices managed wherever they are located, making it useful especially with a remote workforce. With features like zero-touch deployment, admins can send devices directly to remote employees and enroll them into MDM without ever having to touch the device.
MDM is more than just a convenient way to handle devices. It’s foundational for keeping company data secure. By requiring MDM enrollment to access company resources, admins can understand the health of a device and enforce important security features, like passcode requirements and software updates. Without MDM, admins have less control, opening up your organization to cyber attacks.
Ownership models
There are multiple ways to enroll your devices into MDM, depending on who owns the item. Whatever the ownership model is, admins should require enrollment into MDM before employees can access any corporate resources.
- Corporate owned: Generally, IT has full supervision over this device — all of the installed applications and settings are managed by IT. This doesn’t necessarily mean users can’t change anything about their device or that IT sees everything they do, but users may find they can’t do whatever they want on the device. These devices are enrolled in MDM either before the employee uses the device, or shortly thereafter.
- Corporate owned, personally enabled: These devices have similar restrictions as purely work-focused, corporate-owned devices, and are enrolled early. However, they might also have a partition that allows users to store their own personal data and apps. The work partition holds only work information, while the personal partition holds only personal information — data does not transfer between them.
- Bring your own device: These devices are owned by users, so they may have a lot of their personal lives on it. Employees can enroll these devices into MDM on their own, when they need access to company apps or information. This user-initiated enrollment is on the employees terms, which can remove some workload from IT. These devices also have separate work and personal partitions — personal information stays private while corporate data remains controlled and secure.
Remote access software
Remote access software allows admins to remotely access and control another device. This may used for troubleshooting or collaboration. By screen sharing from afar, IT can support users and help them remain productive with minimal loss of efficiency.
Screen sharing tools like Jamf Remote Assist — built into our MDM, Jamf Pro — streamline the troubleshooting process. Admins can access devices wherever they are, meaning no shipping or bringing your device to IT.
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