The “bring your own device” concept has been around since 2004, so it is not exactly a new trend. However, the significance of BYOD has increased exponentially in recent years, made more cogent by the increase in the use of freelance specialists and the market saturation of mobile devices, such as tablets and smartphones.

Although the cost benefits of encouraging employees and visitors to supply the equipment they need for work are clear, the security risks of allowing access to corporate resources from private devices discourages many businesses from adopting the policy.

Here is our list of the best BYOD solutions & software:

  • N-able N-sight (FREE TRIAL) A remote monitoring and management tool that includes the ability to monitor, manage, and secure smartphones and tablets.
  • ManageEngine Mobile Device Manager Plus (FREE TRIAL) This suite of mobile security services includes application, device, and email management functions as well as device management. Available for both on-premises installation or as a cloud service.
  • AirWatch Workspace One A cloud-based BYOD security protection solution provided by virtualization industry leader, VMWare.
  • BlackBerry Unified Endpoint Management Options to manage all endpoints or just wi-fi-connecting personal devices.
  • Citrix XenMobile Mobile device management from one of the major virtualization providers.
  • Cisco Meraki A unified endpoint management system that can be tailored to just cover mobile devices.
  • Microsoft Intune A cloud-based unified endpoint management system that will implement a BYOD policy.
  • SOTI MobiControl Covers IoT devices as well as phones, tablets, and laptops. Runs on Windows.
  • Miradore Mobile Device Management A cloud-based mobile device manager available in free and paid versions.
  • Jamf Now A mobile device manager for iOS devices that is free for up to three devices.
  • SimplySecure A cloud-based unified endpoint management service that includes support for iOS and Android device management.

Despite the cost savings of BYOD, businesses in developed economies have a lower rate of BYOD than those in developing countries. North American and European businesses tend to be more risk-averse than businesses in Brazil, India, and the Middle East because they are more likely to be the targets of cyberattacks.

Knowledge is power, so in this guide, you will learn more about BYOD. You will discover the risks that you can face when you allow employees and visitors to connect to your network with their own equipment, and you will find out how to protect your business against those threats. Once you have a solid understanding of the risks and the strategies that mitigate those problems, you will have more confidence to decide whether to reap the benefits of a BYOD policy.

Benefits of BYOD solutions & management software

Although there are many risks involved in BYOD, companies are starting to implement this policy, so there must be benefits that you could reap by following the trend.

So, the cost savings are greater for companies that expect to have a high turnover of staff or depend on a lot of temporary staff.

Start-up businesses can reduce the amount of capital needed for equipment by encouraging employees and collaborators to bring in their own equipment. If you don’t own the equipment that your workers use, you don’t have any responsibility for replacing outmoded models with the latest technology. You do, however, need to take responsibility for the firmware and potential security risks of those devices and that task requires the technical assistance of specialized software.

Businesses that frequently organize events on the company site would also benefit from the policy because making a network available to visitors would aid collaboration. If you want to show potential clients around your premises, you want to be welcoming and allow them to connect to your network, but you also need to show that your company has tight security, so managed BYOD is a lot more preferable than a free-for-all.

BYOD physical security risks

You have two categories of challenges when you begin a BYOD policy:

  • Employees bringing their own personal devices into the office
  • Employees out in the field who want to attach to the network from their remote location

Of these two access models, the remote access scenario presents more risk to the company because there is a problem of physical security in addition to the complications of device data integrity.

However, meetings often over-run and salesmen can be in a rush to pack up and move on. They get distracted on the metro and rush off at the last minute at their stops. Those devices often get left behind.

A mislaid, lost, or stolen laptop, smartphone, or tablet can seriously disrupt a sales effort just because of loss of the information that is stored on it. If that device also has access to the company network, the thief may quickly sell it to a hacker and then your network and company data has been compromised. This is particularly the case when busy people don’t bother to lock their devices with a passcode.

The physical risks of BYOD may be the major factor that discourages you from allowing employees to use their own devices for company activities. However, as has already been pointed out, they probably are already using their own devices to store their work information, and as they are out in the field, there is little that you can do to stop this habit.

Solutions to BYOD physical security risks

If you can’t stop remote employees from using their own devices, the only option is to embrace the practice and control access to information.

Getting that sales contact information backed up off the mobile device and onto the company CRM system is a priority. Not only does a lost phone lose those sales lead details, but a salesman that gets hired by your competition takes all of that stored data with him. You want to provide online apps that encourage remote employees to store all potentially profitable information on your servers and not on their own devices. So, if they walk, they lose access to all the intelligence that you paid them to gather.

Remote wiping is a common solution for company-owned devices but may prove controversial with BYOD owners. If a survey of employees proves that they would be unwilling to allow all data from their phones to be wiped, there are other strategies that you can employ to ensure your company’s system is not compromised.

BYOD Malware risk

Whether your employees connect to your network within the office or from a remote location, you run the risk of malware spreading from their own devices onto the system.

The malware risks that you face fall into three categories:

  • Email risks
  • Internet risks
  • Wifi risks

When the workers are out in the field, or when they are off the clock, they have every right to take their own laptop, smartphone, or tablet wherever they want and do what they like with it.

Email risks

There are many entry points to a device for a virus. One of the main methods that Trojans use to spread is through email attachments. PDF formats, Word documents, and video in particular pose risks. You are no doubt aware of those risks and have policies in place on your corporate email system to block these forms of attachments. However, those rules don’t apply when the owners of devices access their own email in their own time.

Internet risks

Other virus risks come from “cross-site scripting” (XSS) where hacker code is injected into web pages and downloads onto the device when the page is loaded into the browser. Again, you can block XSS on your own network, but not on the devices of your employees.

Some employees might like to download files with the BitTorrent protocol in their spare time. This is another virus access point.

WiFi risks

Employees are likely to take their devices out with them to restaurants and bars, or to hotels on vacation. They may connect to WiFi hotspots, a popular avenue for hacker intrusion. There is actually an international ring of hackers that specializes in infecting mobile devices while in hotels. The hacker group is called Darkhotel and they infect devices indiscriminately, not just the laptops of national security officials and ambassadors. Any employee with BYOD access to the company network is valuable to Darkhotel, and any company will do.

These hackers operate a form of attack called an “advanced persistent threat.” They will gain access to the company network and gradually break passwords to get into databases and file stores, enabling them to riffle through your product designs, your purchase orders, your sales contacts, and your employee data. No matter how small or mundane your business is, the information contained in your system is valuable to identity thieves. A Chinese hacker group operates a cybercrime infrastructure called the terracotta VPN that provides cover for hackers by running connections through the networks of unsuspecting companies.

These factors may be the major reason that you want to prevent employees from accessing your company network with their own, possibly virus-ridden devices. However, there are solutions to all of these problems.

Solutions to BYOD malware risks

You can’t tell employees what they can and can’t download on their phones. However, you can tell them that they are not authorized to access the network. Your mobile device management system should be able to gain access to the device periodically and sweep it for viruses and keyloggers. If any malware is detected, the system should quarantine the device until it has been cleaned. Jailbreaking is another threat to your company network because it allows access to the underlying kernel of the phone and bypasses the operating system to operate beneath virus protection. You need a system that detects jailbreaking and bans those phones from accessing the network.

You may need the permission of the user to perform a virus clean or restore kernel access restrictions. In fact, it would be better to provide a guide on how the device owner can use company tools to clean the detected viruses off their own phone.

Your network would be better protected if you could control the security policy of the entirety of every device that connects to it. There are two ways to deal with virus protection and communication privacy. You can offer all employees connecting to the network with their own devices free virus protection and VPNs to secure all of their connections at all times, or you can use a method known as containerization.

Containerization and MAM

With containerization, you supply applications through a company portal, possibly in the form of a secure browser. Access to the company network can only be achieved through that portal. You make a VPN available for that app so all communications between the device and the company network will be protected. However, all of the user’s other activities will not be protected.

Mobile application management (MAM) systems take care of these portals. This is similar to virtualization—dumb terminals use the processing power of another computer—and is also the same method that cloud-based apps employ. Containerization keeps company communication and personal use of a mobile device separate. MAM ensures all of the work performed on a mobile device is actually resident on an on-premises server, which can be monitored and controlled.

One more system is available to help you cut down on virus risk. This is mobile email management or MEM. These systems give secure access to the company email system over encrypted connections. Storage only occurs on the company’s own protected mail server. MEMs enforce company policy on emails, such as blocks on downloading attachments.

BYOD Confidentiality risks

All of the factors explained in the physical risk section of this guide also apply to the risk of disclosure of company information.

There are three main types of confidentiality risk:

  • Screen visibility risk
  • Device loss risk
  • Employee action risk

The likelihood of employees using their own device to access the company network through wifi hotspots is very high. People enjoy the status of being needed for their job even out of office hours and will answer calls from work, even if they occur in the middle of the night. Similarly, they will pick up alerts from the network and check in on information even when they are on vacation or out to dinner.

Accessing the company network over the internet gives essential, on-call staff such as IT support specialists the ability to do their jobs around the clock. However, if they access the internet from a restaurant or hotel WiFi system, they run the risk of exposing all of the data that is passed back and forth to a man-in-the-middle attack (MITM).

Screen visibility risk

Employees who can access company information at home might be more likely to leave their laptops running with the screen active while they walk off to the kitchen to make a visitor a cup of coffee. Without needing to enter commands, that visitor would be able to read the open document or take a snapshot of it with his own mobile device. That visitor does not need to be an international industrial spy. However, a neighbor with heavy car loan payments might be interested in selling embarrassing or innovative information to the press.

Device loss risk

The loss of devices is not just an inconvenience in terms of hardware, but it also breaches confidentiality if sensitive company data is stored on it. If your business has operations in Europe, the advent of the General Data Protection Regulation, which is in effect as of May 2018, makes the protection of personal data a critical business need. That information may pertain to employees, customers, or even market research, and if anyone can prove that you have not taken sufficient steps to protect that data, they can sue you and your company will be heavily fined.

Employee action risk

Cash-strapped or disgruntled employees will find it a lot easier to copy over or print files containing sensitive information from home than they would in the office, where their actions could be observed. So, distributing files to be stored on employee-owned devices presents a confidentiality risk. With many employees given access to the same information, identifying the source of an information leak would be difficult.

The loss of confidentiality may discourage you from implementing BYOD. However, many of the risks listed above already exist on your private office network, so you need to address the problems of virus intrusion, internet security, and disclosure by employees anyway. The systems that you need to implement in order to prevent information leakage on employee-owned personal devices will actually strengthen your corporate data confidentiality.

BYOD Solutions for confidentiality risks

If you make business applications available from an application server, using MAM, you can also demand that files be stored remotely and not allow storage of corporate documents and data on employee-owned devices. A number of different security tactics for company data are available through mobile content management (MCM) systems.

If you choose to allow documents to be transferred to the device, then MCM systems can track versions of documents, stamping them, so the source of a leak can be traced to a specific copy of a document. These MCM systems can also disable the text copy functions of apps running on mobile devices and make it impossible to print, copy, or email documents.

Man-in-the-middle theft of information can be prevented by applying a VPN to all official communications. The problem of an employee leaving a document open on a device when they temporarily walk away can be solved by enforcing screensaver locks. The problem of theft or loss of devices is taken care of by the automatic lock and location tracking methods of MDM systems.

MEM systems ensure that your employees’ official emails are protected from snoopers in transmission and at rest on the email server.

There is no technical solution to disgruntled or desperate employees showing company data to third parties. However, making the original document impossible to move goes a long way to blocking anyone having any proof of controversial information. Also, the ability to withdraw the individual’s access to the network effectively ends the risk, particularly if you only allow the central storage of data.

Alternatives to BYOD Management

One easy alternative to the BYOD solution is to ban employee-owned personal devices from connecting to the network. This would be an unpopular move. Surveys report that the hardware cost savings of letting employees use their own devices at work is not the biggest benefit of BYOD. In fact, it doesn’t even make it into the top three.

A 2016 survey by LinkedIn’s Information Security Group and Crowd Research Partners discovered that companies rated increased employee mobility as the main reason they chose to implement a BYOD policy (63 percent), employee satisfaction and increased productivity were the next two top reasons that companies implemented BYOD, with 56 percent and 55 percent ratings, respectively.

If you have considered the risks of BYOD and decided that they outweigh the benefits, then there are some other strategies that you could consider.

Personally owned, company enabled (POCE)

The POCE acronym is actually just an alternative phrase for BYOD. However, it highlights a successful BYOD strategy. Very fundamental BYOD involves giving the wifi password to employees so they can access the internet at work without having to use their personal phone plan’s data allowance. However, such a strategy would be foolish. The “company enabled” part of this name shows the way.

You need to manage all mobile devices whether owned by the company or owned by the employee. With company-owned equipment you can take control of the device entirely and ban the user from loading any apps onto it other than those installed by the systems administrator. With BYOD systems, you need to set up a portal that cordons off part of the phone for business use during work hours. The user only accesses the company network through that portal and the rest of the phone is available to the user.

Corporate owned, personally enabled (COPE)

As the name suggests, in this scenario, the device is owned by the company, but the employee is also allowed to use it for personal reasons. However, the company ultimately owns the phone and has rights over it. This enables you to lock or wipe the phone in emergency situations. The user may lose any personal information stored on the phone, but that situation should be explained at the point of issuance. By this strategy, the company retains the rights over the phone and all data stored on it, even if that information was saved by the user.

Choose your own device (CYOD)

This is a variation on company-owned devices that uses a little marketing savvy to get employees onboard with the idea of using mobile devices for productivity gains. The company will buy devices in bulk and gain special discounts for doing so. Instead of buying all of one model, the IT department buys a range of devices. Each employee is then able to select a device rather than being allocated a model.

This policy can even be presented in the form of a catalogue, which feels like a purchase process and wins the enthusiasm of the employee. Whether the phone should be available for personal calls and internet access is a matter for company policy. However, thanks to automated mobile device management systems, the administration of mobile devices is not made more complicated just because the models controlled by the system are diverse.

In some cases, MDM systems are dedicated to one operating system. In these instances, the specialization usually focuses on iOS devices. However, the exact model of the device is not important even in these environments.

Company-owned mobile devices

If you have decided against the BYOD policy, that doesn’t mean that you can’t involve mobile devices in your IT strategy. A number of industry-specific devices could be used in your service delivery. Barcode scanners and point-of-sales devices fall into this category. Smartphones and tablets can also be used as sales devices. You can restrict the apps that can be loaded onto a device and make it part of a store display or a piece of sales demonstration equipment. This is called “kiosk” mode. In these cases, the user would need to use a separate phone for personal calls and messages.

Enterprise Mobility Management

In earlier sections you discovered mobile device management (MDM), mobile application management (MAM), mobile content management (MCM), and mobile email management (MEM). You can buy software to implement any one of these solutions, or get a bundle of all of them, in which case you need to look for an enterprise mobility management system (EMM).

The good news is that these systems are so comprehensive that you no longer need to worry about employing mobile devices in your business. Whether those mobile devices are owned by the company or owned by employees makes little difference. MDM systems can cope with all scenarios.

The software industry has taken note of the higher risks of including mobile devices in a company network. The possibility of BYOD has created some innovations in the mobile management software market that have raced ahead of traditional network management systems.

Enterprise mobility management systems have become so impressive that you will wish you could have the same level of control for your physical office network and all of its attached devices. You can. If you want EMM for all of your network, then you need to look for unified endpoint management (UEM) systems. They are out there and usually provided by the same vendors that produce EMM systems.

The best BYOD solutions & management software

Comparitech has a special feature on mobile device management systems. However, if you don’t have time to hop over to that other article, here are summaries of today’s recommended top ten MDM systems.

With these selection criteria in mind, we picked some great mobile device management systems that will enable you to allow user-owned devices onto your network safely.

Our methodology for selecting BYOD tools 

We reviewed the market for BYOD solutions and analyzed tools based on the following criteria:

  • Device risk assessment
  • Mobile content management
  • Security measures to protect company data from theft
  • User authentication
  • Options for managing IoT devices
  • A free trial or a demo package that enables assessment without paying
  • Value for money from a comprehensive service that enables users to connect their own devices to the company network

1. N-able N-sight (FREE TRIAL)

N-able N-sight is a SaaS system that provides remote monitoring and management software plus the server to run it on and storage space for RMM-related files. The system includes special procedures for monitoring personal mobile devices and it is ideal for managing a BYOD policy.

Key Features:

  • Remote monitoring and management
  • Mobile device management
  • Bulk onboarding
  • Portal for containerized access

N-able N-sight enables system managers to onboard devices rapidly. As this is a remote system, those individual devices don’t have to be in one place. So, groups of mobile devices delivered to different sites can all be given a corporate-approved configuration by one central IT department.

User-owned devices can be integrated into the corporate system by loading a portal to company services on them. This access can easily be blocked should the phone be lost or stolen. So, there are two levels of treatment available for mobile devices used for company activities – company-owned devices that can be completely controlled, tracked, and locked or wiped remotely, or user-owned devices that can be given access to company resources, while allowing their normal recreational use by the owner.

Another way to manage access from BYOD devices in the corporate realm is to grant and control access from mobile phones to the office WiFi network. It is possible to create separate WiFi APs for BYOD equipment and company-owned devices, allowing the network manager to vary access rights according to the needs of different user types. For example, guests can be allowed access to a WiFi system to enable them to contact their own base services while in the building, without needing to give them access to the full network and its resources.

The mobile device management functions can control individual devices running iOS, Android, and Windows Mobile. The dashboard for N-able N-sight is resident in the cloud and it can be accessed from through any standard browser or a mobile app. You can get a 30-day free trial.

Pros:

  • Different procedures for business-owned and user-owned devices
  • Standardized profiles for onboarding corporate fleet
  • Secure portal for access to company apps from user-owned devices
  • Manages guest WiFi network

Cons:

  • Doesn’t include compliance reporting

N-able N-sight Start 30-day FREE Trial

2. ManageEngine Mobile Device Manager Plus (FREE TRIAL)

ManageEngine produces a range of infrastructure management software and the Mobile Device Manager Plus system fits well with the company’s other network and server monitoring packages. You can buy this MDM system as a software package to install in your offices or subscribe to a cloud service.

  • Security scanning for mobile devices
  • Android and iOS
  • Application shielding

As well as an MDM, this suite includes mobile application management, mobile content management, and mobile email management, so it is the complete EMM package. The management options include services for BYOD, which starts with an enrollment app to get a device included in the network. If you have company-owned devices, you can configure them in bulk or individually.

Policies can be defined for different groups of devices, making it easy to set separate configuration options for BYOD and company-owned devices. Remote access to all devices is facilitated through the system dashboard. It enables you to view the screen of a device, explore the file system, and run programs to fix problems. You can lock or wipe lost devices remotely. The console is able to locate all devices. The system will periodically test each device, search for malware, and detect jailbreaking.

ManageEngine’s Mobile Device Manager Plus is specifically tailored for personal devices, which makes it ideal for BYOD oversight, but it can be integrated into a wider unified endpoint management strategy. The system is free to use to manage up to 25 devices and it is also available as a cloud service.

All communication between the device and the network is encrypted, and a fully encrypted email management system is also available. The system is free if you only need to manage up to 25 devices and there is a 30-day free trial for the paid plans.

  • Includes mobile devices in the corporate security monitoring service

  • Controls access to applications

  • Spots access attempts to access the operating system or sensitive data

  • Doesn’t cover IoT devices

ManageEngine Mobile Device Manager Plus Start 30-day FREE Trial

3. AirWatch Workspace One

AirWatch is a division of VMWare, a leader in virtualization, so this cloud-based service includes mobile application management that mimics virtual terminal methodologies. The onboarding of BYOD is carried out by an enrollment app that you make available to the device owner. If you also have company-owned devices on the network, the system enables you to treat these two ownership groups differently through customizable policies. You can check all phones for malware and jailbreaking and quarantining suspicious devices.

  • Cloud-based
  • Constructed with virtualization
  • VPN connections

All communications between the network and the device are encrypted and the more expensive plans include a proprietary VPN, which is called VMWare Tunnel. For user-owned devices, that encryption can be applied just to the apps that access the network. Access control processes use two-factor authentication can include biometric checks. A secure email system is also available with Workspace One .

Remote access to all devices will enable you to troubleshoot and diagnose problems. This facility gives you screen view and the ability to execute programs. Remote control functions all give you the ability to lock or wipe phones and the location of all active devices is tracked live on a map. The option to monitor and limit the use of corporate cell phone service plans comes with the more expensive Workspace One packages.

You provide an app catalog, which can be tailored for groups of devices. The system checks automatically for installed apps that are not on a whitelist.

The Workspace ONE package is available in four service levels and you can get a 30-day free trial.

  • Access controls include two-factor authentication and biometric systems

  • Technician access to devices

  • Onboarding and device control

  • No self-hosting option

4. BlackBerry Unified Endpoint Management

BlackBerry offers a UEM system to cover all the devices on your network, or an Enterprise Mobility Suite that just covers mobile devices, wifi-enabled equipment and wearable technology. You can download and install software or opt to use the management system as a cloud-based service.

  • BYOD, mobile devices, and IoT
  • Deployment options
  • Ties in with desktop management

You can configure your own devices en masse, or make secure apps available for user-owned devices. The question of whether users would let you wipe their phones in case of loss is not an issue with the BlackBerry system because it does not include that capability, nor does it include a device location utility. You will be able to access devices remotely, however, and the functions you can perform on all managed devices include locking in case of theft.

Secure email and messaging capabilities are available as an optional extra as is a CRM package. The cheaper package consists of MDM and a basic MAM. To get more comprehensive mobile application management and mobile content management you need to sign up for one of the more expensive plans — there are five different service levels. All of the mobility plans can be assessed with a free trial.

  • Remote device access

  • Device locking

  • Mobile application management

  • No track or wipe functions

5. Citrix XenMobile

Citrix is the main rival of VMWare in the virtualization market and their expertise in that field extends to their application delivery for XenMobile. This MDM package includes excellent mobile application management and mobile content management utilities.

  • Mobile application management
  • Mobile content management
  • Virtualized delivery

Citrix includes proprietary email, messaging, collaboration, and file sharing utilities in XenMobile. Include any other app through a technique, called “Wrapping.” This applies a layer of encryption to all communications for that app between the device and the server. If you develop your own in-house apps, they can be made available securely to the mobile devices on your system with the addition of just one line of code.

Citrix has a special procedure for dealing with user-owned devices. This is called a “MAM first” policy. The security of the software applications made available to user-owned devices substitutes for the protection extended to company-owned devices by the MDM system. Nothing is loaded onto the device other than a network login app. Once the owner logs out of that portal, there is no corporate property on the device. This is a great solution to the thorny issue of wiping lost phones. Users can access their account from any device, so they can start a project on their desktop computer and then continue accessing that work from their mobile device when they leave the office.

This is a very sophisticated solution that supports flexible working practices and you can get a taste of it with a free trial.

  • Provides access to a VM through mobile devices

  • Corporate assets don’t download onto user devices

  • Operates through a user portal

  • Uses VMs like containers, but why not just use containers?

6. Cisco Meraki

Cisco Meraki is a unified endpoint management system that monitors all of your office equipment as well as mobile devices. However, you can structure your service so that it only monitors mobile devices. It works with Windows, macOS, Windows Phone, iOS, Android, Chrome OS and Samsung Knox operating systems.

  • Covers all endpoint types
  • Self-enrollment for BYOD
  • Corporate services portal

BYOD inclusion starts with an enrollment process performed by the device owner. Company-owned devices can also be added to the system and configured in bulk. Configuration options can be managed by groups, allowing you to set different policies for groups of users or types of devices.

Meraki has a great device tracking feature that shows the current location of all equipment on a map. Lost devices can be locked or wiped. Meraki is able to monitor call and data plan usage. It is possible to limit corporate account usage for devices that show excessive consumption or those that have been lost or stolen.

The mobile application management and mobile content management functions of Meraki are combined in a system called Backpack. The administrator bundles together software applications and data storage and then makes that package available to a group of users. Different application bundles cater to different work roles.

  • Containerizes applications and content

  • Also controls company-owned devices

  • Device tracking, locking and wiping

  • Offers more functions for company-owned devices than user-owned devices

7. Microsoft Intune

Intune is a cloud-based unified endpoint management system. It can manage computers and mobile devices running Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and Windows Phone. If you just want an MDM, you may only register mobile devices.

  • Cloud-based
  • Computers and mobile devices
  • Policy options

User-owned devices can be treated differently to company-owned equipment. An enrollment package allows users to enlist their devices. Within Intune, policy options give you control of the whole phone or just deliver secure apps to a device. The latter is probably a more palatable option for BYOD.

Security features include location of lost or stolen devices (only for iOS), remote locking, and phone wiping. There is no remote access function with Intune, which may make this system preferable for BYOD scenarios. However, it is possible to scan all mobile devices for unauthorized apps and malware. In the case of app-only access, these functions would not be relevant, leaving responsibility for the rest of the device to the owner.

Intune is the lower level of a three-level service. The higher plans are called E3 and E5. These two packages have stronger security features than Intune and better application delivery systems. Mobile content management and secure email are only available with E3 and E5.

  • Choose between portal service or whole device control

  • Self-enrollment for user-owned devices

  • Pre-connection security device scans for security risks

  • This is a Zero Trust Network Access system

Microsoft offers a 90-day free trial for Intune, E3, and E5.

8. SOTI MobiControl

SOTI MobiControl is an on-premises software package that runs on Windows. You can manage Windows, iOS, and Android devices and also specialist industry devices and IoT equipment running on Linux. It has a very attractive dashboard that includes visualizations such as graphs and charts. A map shows the location of all managed devices.

  • Enrollment method options
  • Distributed architecture
  • Self-hosted

MobiControl can manage the entire mobile device or restrict network access to specific apps, leaving the user-owned device available for out-of-office private use. Although you can configure devices centrally and bulk configure company-owned devices by group, there is a self-enrollment package that allows users to enroll phones themselves.

The client software available with SOTI includes a secure browser. This is the access method for BYOD scenarios, delivering apps to devices not owned by the company. File storage is kept off the device, making the risk of loss less critical. The mobile content management module of MobiControl is called SOTI hub and keeps all files on a central server. All file access is logged.

The management dashboard includes remote lock and wipe functions. The central administrator can remotely access managed devices, which gives a view of the screen and the ability to execute programs in order to fix problems.

Start using MobiControl before you pay for it. The software can be downloaded directly from the SOTI website and you get a 30-day free trial.

  • Allows Linux-based IoT devices onto a network

  • Provides mobile application and content management

  • Security risk assessment of each device

  • Better suited for use with in-house mobile assets than user-owned devices

9. Miradore Mobile Device Management

Miradore Mobile Device Management package is a cloud-based service. There are three service levels and the lowest of these is free of charge. The paid versions are the Business Edition for $1 per device per month and the Enterprise Edition for $2 per device per month. Although the free version is just an MDM system, the Enterprise version, which includes MAM and MCM, is still cheaper than most of the other services on this list. Miradore is not one of the major players in the infrastructure management software market, but its service competes very favorably with the leaders of the industry. Miradore is able to manage mobile devices running Windows, iOS, and Android.

  • Manages laptops as well as mobiles
  • Containerized delivery
  • Free version

All plans include end-to-end encryption. Remote control functions allow you to locate all equipment, lock or wipe a lost device, reset passwords, and bypass any hardware password set by the user.

Miradore uses enrollment-based configuration, which is fine for BYOD. However, you can’t bulk configure a fleet of company-owned devices. The software includes secure email apps and wifi protection. A VPN service is only available for iOS devices.

The Enterprise plan includes mobile application management. In a BYOD environment, you would need the “containerization” solution, which isolates the apps on a device that are allowed to access the company network. This is also only available with the Enterprise plan. Other special features reserved for the Enterprise plan include data and cell plan usage monitoring and web content filtering.

  • Provides a choice of management options, suitable for in-house and user-owned devices

  • Delivers corporate applications and content through a remote access portal

  • Prevents corporate assets from being stored on user-owned devices

  • Manages mobiles and laptops – why not desktops?

The free plan includes standard report formats, and you can customize reports with the two paid packages. As you would expect, a number of features are available only to paying customers, such as live support.

10. Jamf Now

Jamf Now is a cloud-based service that only controls iOS devices. The service is priced per device and the first three devices are free.

  • Manage three devices for free
  • Web-based enrollment
  • Connection security

The enrollment process is very well designed. Send a link to a web page containing all of the sign up details necessary to include a device in the network to the device owner. Completion of the enrollment triggers and automatic configuration procedure that installs an encryption client on the device.

If you have company-owned devices as well, create a “blueprint” configuration and then apply that to group a group of devices. You can create several blueprints for your entire network.

Managed devices send out alerts to warn of jailbreaking or unauthorized software. Get an inventory of the spare storage capacity, installed apps, and the serial number of each of the devices on your network.

Allocate a passcode to each device. Two-factor authentication is available. Procedures for lost phones include lock and wipe options. A phone marked as lost will signal you its location.

Jamf Now relies on the Apple Volume Purchasing Program for mobile application management. A version control utility lets you check on the operating systems of your managed devices and roll out updates when they become available.

  • Company-owned device management as well as BYOD

  • Controls device security

  • OS patch management

  • Only works with iOS devices

11. SimplySecure

SimplySecure is a cloud-based service that can manage iOS and Android mobile devices as well as portable storage. The system can manage desktops and laptops, giving you unified endpoint management. You may only purchase an annual subscription directly from the SimplySecure website. It is possible to get a monthly rate, but only through resellers. The service is charged at a different price per unit for desktops and laptops, mobile devices, and USB storage.

  • Cloud-based
  • Manages all device types
  • Device tracking and wiping

The service includes device tracking, and lost devices can be wiped remotely. The utility to reset passcodes centrally works as a lock in cases of theft.

Encryption protects communications between each device and the company network. Data stored on the device can also be encrypted.

Optional coverage for USB storage devices is pretty unique and a great boon for small companies that employ portable storage as a space saver for mobile staff. SimplySecure is a straightforward UEM system suitable for small businesses with no in-house systems administrators.

  • Encryption to protect connections

  • Data security on mobile devices

  • Also manages peripheral

  • More for corporate-owned assets than user-owned devices

To BYOD or not to BYOD

MDM systems can greatly increase your control over mobile devices used for your business whether you own those devices or your employees do.

Mobile devices can enhance the competitive edge of any company. If you don’t want to risk BYOD, then try one of the other deployment models outlined in this guide. CYOD is a particularly clever strategy that gives employees a feeling of being valued: “The company is buying me a phone!” If you want to introduce mobile devices into your work practices, you will be watching your employees walk out of the door with the equipment that you paid for. Making them feel that you bought the phones for them boosts morale, getting you extra productivity benefits out of the purchase.

Providing mobile equipment for employees is a risky business and keeping track of issuance is important. In a famous example, Coca Cola lost a large amount of mobile devices to one employee who was a serial loser. Each loss took network access and stored company data with it. Allowing BYOD solves the problem of lost hardware along with all of the data on it.

The industry has come a long way since the Coca Cola laptop heist, and you can thank your MDM system for saving you a lot of money. It keeps track of your property wherever it goes and because it gives you the confidence to allow employees to connect their own devices to the network, saving you the cost of buying equipment.

Notice the MDM systems listed in this guide manage both company-owned equipment and employee-owned mobile devices. That gives you an opportunity to get the best out of a mobile strategy by employing a hybrid approach. The tracking of company-owned devices gives you a fallback position and should allow you the confidence to lay down strict ground rules. Staff who refuse the terms of connecting to the network with their own approved devices can be issued a company device.

The CYOD strategy can also be integrated into an employee incentive scheme. A better phone or tablet could be offered to those who win points for improved productivity or success on company-approved training courses.

The bottom line is that mobile devices have become a useful tool both as an incentive for improved performance and as a bare, straightforward productivity gain.

Update your system monitoring software to include enterprise mobility management and reap the productivity gains and cost savings of BYOD.

Further reading

Comparitech Networking Guides

  • The ultimate guide to mobile device management (MDM)
  • Top server management & monitoring tools
  • Top LAN monitoring tools
  • The definitive guide to DHCP
  • The definitive guide to SNMP
  • How to build your own cloud storage server at a fraction of the cost
  • The best free NetFlow analyzers and collectors for Windows
  • The best free network vulnerability scanners and how to use them
  • The best packet sniffers and network analyzers
  • Best free bandwidth monitoring software and tools to analyze network traffic usage