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Why More Businesses Are Embracing Mobile Device Management

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It’s no secret that people love their smartphones. People around the world are glued to them for a number of reasons. Businesses too are embracing mobile device technology with the intent of changing the way they operate. Mobile technology gives employees the freedom to create flexible work plans in remote locations. The opportunity to work remotely will drive results that cannot be achieved sitting behind a desk in an office all day.

There are benefits of mobile device management that cannot be dismissed. Many of these benefits revolve around security. Since mobile devices allow your employees to work from multiple locations on a daily basis, security is a top priority. Your business is made up of sensitive data that you need to protect, even while your employees are out and about doing their jobs. Here are some of the ways mobile device management will help you secure your information.

Remote management
You can guarantee the security of the mobile devices connected to your network 24/7 through features such as remote locate, lock and wipe, device restriction settings, restriction of website browsing access, and BYOD (bring your own device) privacy settings.

Compliance reporting
Adherence to regulatory compliance standards is a major concern for many organizations today. You cannot afford to have an unauthorized device on your network. With mobile device management, you will have end-to-end control of your devices through registration and configuration. You can track and monitor your organization’s compliance initiatives, along with analytics and reporting.

Secure Document Sharing
Employees rely on a variety of documents to carry out their daily responsibilities. For example, sales people rely on updated presentations and contracts that vary from customer to customer. With mobile device management, you can securely and quickly share documents amongst the users on your network.

Mobile technology is making it easier to conduct business on the go. With mobile device management, you can implement a secure system that will allow your employees to operate from anywhere without the worry of compromising any of your vital data and information. If you are ready to implement an easy-to-use mobile device management plan for your business, contact Infomax Office Solutions today to learn more.

What’s Your Policy? Corporate Mobile Device Rules to Consider

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We live and work in a mobile world, and mobile access is increasingly critical to business communications and workflows. Whether your employees use a laptop computer, mobile phone, tablet, or portable drive, a few well-executed, thoughtful policies can provide some assurance for your employees and your company.

Consider the following rules when crafting your mobile device policy.

● Devices must be password-protected. Employees may object to the inconvenience of having to unlock their device, but this is a must-have rule. Note that swipe patterns and facial recognition are less secure than a strong password.

● Stored data must be encrypted. Strong encryption—typically 128-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)—is a necessity to protect data on all mobile devices. Talk to your IT professionals specifically about encryption when developing your policy.

● Users must use encrypted network connections. In other words, make sure your staff doesn’t use free Wi-Fi connections! Options vary, but approved connections usually include SSL for Virtual Private Network (VPN) connections, or WPA2 for Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) connections.

● Mobile devices must be stored securely. Physical theft is as much of a risk as data-only theft, so make sure to stress that mobile devices shouldn’t be left unattended to your staff.

● Lost or stolen mobile devices must be reported to the company within 24 hours. Increased exposure time means increased risk. Make sure your team knows to notify you when devices are lost, so you can take action quickly.

● Devices must have remote data wiping enabled. If it’s not possible to recover a lost device, the only way to protect company data is to remove it completely.

● No texting or emailing while driving. No business communication is worth the life of your employee, or that of another driver or passenger. Stress responsible texting in your mobile policy. As the saying goes, it can wait.

● Noncompliance has consequences. Make sure employees know that repercussions associated with violating internal data sharing rules also apply to mobile data. Accidental exposures of non-sensitive data may warrant a simple written warning, while intentional data theft or exposure may call for termination.

Embracing mobile technology is vital to competing in today’s economy. With a few smart device rules and staff training, your company can thrive in the mobile world. Call Infomax Office Systems to optimize your mobile device strategy today.

Ensuring Mobile Devices Stay Secure

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It’s hard to imagine how to effectively do our jobs without the use of smartphones and tablets. The benefits of incorporating mobile devices in our day-to-day workflows are significant—allowing us to go anywhere in the world, while remaining proactive and productive employees. Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is a way for employees to access work information via mobile devices, while companies are exempt from paying for the device itself, its maintenance, or any accumulating contractual monthly fees.

While the pros and cons of BYOD are debatable, keeping your company’s data secure is absolutely essential—every business should consider the security of its data a top priority. From internal emails, to client credit card information, and your employees’ social security numbers, there is plenty at risk when it comes to private company data. Setting a company-wide BYOD security strategy to ensure mobile devices stay safe is the first step in protecting your sensitive business data.

Consider implementing the following BYOD strategies to help keep mobile devices that access company files, email, or other data safe.

Remote Locate, Lock, and Wipe – No matter how diligent employees are with their devices, sometimes they are lost. With a remote locate, lock, and wipe system in place, you can find, password-protect, and delete all sensitive business data from an employee’s lost or stolen device from your office. This is a great feature when considering the devices of employees who are terminated or quit.

Device Backup and Updates – End users should be responsible for backing up their device to ensure their personal data is not lost. Doing so also entails processing any current updates or patches to devices, which increases that device’s level of security. So, encourage your employees to regularly backup and update each of their mobile devices used for BYOD

Beef Up Passwords – Ask your team to strengthen each device’s password and privacy settings on their apps to make hacking their devices more difficult. Passwords that are a minimum of ten characters long that use lower and upper case letters, numbers, and punctuation are recommended. Moreover, remember that recognizable words are easily hacked, so encourage employees to use meaningful acronyms as strong passwords.

Consider Outsourced Mobile Device Management – Companies like Infomax work every day to ensure the security of all of their clients’ technology, including across mobile devices. Infomax iGuard is a mobile device management service that provides an easy-to-use, cloud-based solution specifically designed to secure corporate mobile devices. Outsourcing mobile device management removes the onus from your IT staff and ensures that your data is always secure—even when accessed on a smartphone or tablet.

Setting a strategy and ensuring compliance are paramount when it comes to using mobile devices for work purposes. By developing a strategy and implementing it, you can protect your company’s sensitive information, while allowing your employees to be as productive as possible by using their own devices.

Contact Infomax today for more information on keeping your company data secure.