Peer to Peer Magazine

19 WWW.ILTANET.ORG BEST PRACTICES Navigating Through the MDM Soware Market Compatibility and Integration Working MDM soware into existing enterprise infrastructure can be difficult, and compatibility issues are always a concern. The first step to ensuring compatibility with existing devices, whether BYOD or corporate-issued, is to find an MDM application that is OS-agnostic –– it works with Android, iOS, Windows, BlackBerry, etc. Second, make sure the MDM solution is compatible with your culture. Do you want a heavy, visible MDM app or a light, non-intrusive app? Get input from key stakeholders and sandbox MDM apps to get an idea of how they fit into your existing mobile environment. From an integration perspective, the MDM soware must integrate with enterprise soware. Enterprise soware such as Exchange, Office 365 and Active Directory — as well as peripheral applications ranging from time entry and project management to remote access and custom-built programs — need to fit into your MDM solution. You don't want to get to the rollout only to discover the MDM app doesn't play well with your existing soware suite. cost-effective. No longer do administrators need to consult various servers and admin consoles to manage the mobile workforce. Instead, cloud-based soware provides administrators one point of reference for when devices are added/removed or MDM policy is revised or augmented. Regarding maintenance, cloud-based platforms require fewer resources and knowledge of the background configuration because upgrades are handled by the service provider. This reduces the number of in-house resources required and, ultimately, saves money. Security Whatever MDM soware you go with, it must have solid security for both the platform and the endpoint. From corporate email and contacts to banking information and family photos, mobile data are rich with corporate and personal information. Whether your MDM soware directly manages those data banks or not doesn't maer –– most MDM applications have access to the data either way. With this in mind, make sure any MDM soware you deploy is buoned up. Look for security certifications such as ISO 27001, AICPS SOC-2 Type II, FIPS 140-2 and others. In addition, as far as the endpoint is concerned, it's best to go with an MDM application that acts as a pass-through gateway instead of a collect-and-store application. In other words, best-of-breed MDM apps don't retain the information they transmit. An example of this is Cloud Extender for Exchange data. Any MDM soware that minimizes the data stored directly on the mobile endpoint is going to directly reduce the exposure of your corporate data. The soware must have advanced remote wiping capabilities. If a device is lost or stolen, or an employee leaves the organization, wiping the data should be quick and easy. Depending on how the MDM policy is configured, many MDM applications can remotely wipe select information and applications or perform a factory reset on the device. This eliminates the risk of data leakage from misplaced and stolen devices and is a core component of successful MDM soware. RICKY BROOMAN Richard (Ricky) Brooman is a Litigation Support Specialist at Saul Ewing LLP. In this capacity, he consults internal and external clients on best practices for e-discovery and information governance and manages all phases of the EDRM for litigation matters. Ricky is also a member of ILTA's Business Management Content Coordinating Team. Contact him at rbrooman@ saul.com.

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