What is Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM)?

Enterprise Mobility Management, also known as EMM, is a set of software tools and processes organizations use to secure all mobile devices and applications used by employees.

EMM provides complete 24/7 visibility into an organization’s entire fleet of mobile devices, such as scanners, tablets, smartphones, laptops, kiosks, etc. Without this visibility – including mobile device status, location, software updates, security and more – organizations can miss out on the full range of mobile device benefits in the workplace and expose their business and customers to potential security risks. 

Specifically, EMM is a set of services and technologies designed to secure, manage and better understand corporate data on employees’ mobile devices. Generally, this suite of mobile management systems and services is offered as a single EMM solution capable of being rolled out on a wide range of commonly used enterprise IT systems to provide easy management of large fleets of mobile devices.

What Is EMM Used For?

An EMM solution is used to bring together several features, including the ability to centrally and remotely enforce a corporate mobility policy or a set of guidelines governing the use of mobile devices in workplaces. EMM also helps control device security while managing which apps and content are available to the user on which devices and troubleshooting device problems remotely.

Managing security threats is another major benefit of using EMM solutions. When successfully deployed, a secure EMM browser can block untrusted sites and minimize phishing and malicious attacks. Integrated within this solution, an antivirus system can prevent malware in files and apps from being downloaded or installed on any device, such as smartphones and scanners.

Minimizing these privacy risks further, EMM is also used to enforce complex passwords, encryption and the separation of personal and work data to prevent breaches of sensitive or confidential content within corporate apps.

Using an EMM solution gives businesses confidence that in the event of a lost or stolen device, IT administrators can immediately wipe and lock the device remotely.

An EMM solution is used to manage not only organization-owned mobile devices, but also employees’ personal devices if an organization has a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy in place.

Adding new devices with an EMM solution is very straight-forward, typically takes a few minutes and can be done on a large scale remotely.

Using an EMM solution, the transition to remote working is also seamless because policies are in place to support mobile devices being used from any location.

The ability to troubleshoot any issues with mobile devices remotely using EMM also improves the experience for the user and avoids costly device outages and employee downtime.

Who Uses EMM?

Because mobile devices including scanners, tablets and kiosks, are now used across almost every industry, implementations of EMM vary. Here are some examples of how some industries are using EMM solutions:

What Are the Top Business Benefits of EMM?

EMM offers a range of business benefits. These include:

Enhanced employee productivity: EMM provides employees with real-time access to the corporate data and applications they need to be productive regardless of their location.

Organization-wide consistency: If users are required to share devices, or switch from one to the next, EMM ensures that mobile devices are consistent across the organization, ensuring employees are immediately comfortable when switching devices.

Remote troubleshooting capabilities: If mobile devices require updates or maintenance, IT administrators can take care of these issues remotely.

Employee satisfaction: Less admin and technical knowledge is required by users due to remote support.

Reduced admin for IT resources: EMM streamlines the management of mobile devices, saving time and resources for IT administrators.

Flexible workforce: EMM empowers the workforce to work remotely by ensuring mobile devices are fit for purpose in a remote work setting.

Reduced total cost of ownership (TCO) and improved return on investment (ROI): EMM helps organizations to achieve the full benefits of using mobile devices and therefore gain the fastest payback on the investment in these devices.

Security: EMM helps to secure corporate data held on mobile devices and applications in the event of a malicious attack or a lost or stolen device.