5 Reasons to Lock Down Android Tablets for Business Use

If you hear the term « lockdown, » you might think about your office’s safety protocols, but you may not think of device lockdown. This is a shame, because being able to lockdown Android tablet devices is one of the best things you can do to keep your workplace safe and secure.

There are at least five good reasons to lock your devices down at work. Of course, each of these is only valuable if it includes a way to make it happen. That’s why each tip comes with an actionable first step so you can harness the power of lockdown functionality.

1. Set Clear Expectations for Anyone Using Your Tablet

If you hand someone a tablet with unrestricted access to games, social media, and more, they might think you will be OK with them using all of the apps they can access. Especially at work, that’s definitely not true, and runs the risk of coworkers seeing personal information.

On the other hand, if you hand someone a locked-down tablet, it will be clear what you intend for them to do with it. Even if someone manages to find a workaround for your lockdown method, this is a clear violation of the rules you have set, meaning they have no way to defend their actions.

How to do it: You can lockdown Android tablets one-by-one using screen pinning, but this requires you to manually activate and deactivate the pinned app after each use. Plus, restricting users to a single app may be too restrictive. An easier approach is to use a mobile device management solution, which provides much more flexibility in regards to device lockdown. You can restrict devices to multiple apps, or just block specific ones. This way, if whoever is using your tablet needs to use multiple apps, they can do so.

2. Appear Professional

Especially at work, your devices reflect your level of professionalism. It is careless to spend time at work on games and other apps, and as such, it will seem unprofessional if you allow anyone else to do the same on your tablet.

By enabling Android kiosk mode on your tablet or phone, you show that you are committed to using technology productively during work hours. This can help you stand out from others who don’t lock down their phones, and who get distracted as a consequence.

How to do it: A mobile device management solution can lock down devices to block notifications, calls, and any other non-work-related communications. This helps to ensure that neither you nor anyone using your device gets distracted when productivity is paramount.

3. Keep Your Tablet Safe 

If you ever hand off tablets for someone else to use, you’re risking the possibility that they will endanger your tablets in some way. After all, people who download unsafe apps or files on your tablet don’t suffer as a consequence. You do, since it’s your tablet. 

Plus, if someone steals your tablet, they won’t be able to wreak havoc if the device is locked down. This means the ability to lockdown Android tablets is a final line of defense for protecting against data breaches.

How to do it: You can augment device lockdown features with other MDM security tools. For instance, mobile threat defense technology can help to safeguard devices against malicious code.

4. Don’t Let Anyone Change Your Preferred Settings

If you work hard to get your tablet settings just right (and who doesn’t?), you don’t want anyone to mess with them. Nothing is more frustrating than finding a borrowed device is now changed in some way. After all, if your device settings are perfect, then any alteration makes them worse. 

How to do it: MDM-based lockdown solutions let you implement an additional password to protect your settings, on top of your main password. This password can work alongside device lockdown, ensuring that no one can bypass device lockdown by altering settings.

5. Save Money on Data

The more apps you make available on tablets, the higher the likelihood someone will consume a huge amount of data. This puts you in a difficult spot, especially if you have to pay for the reckless behavior of the person who triggered data overage fees.

How to do it: Of course, lockdown solutions can restrict what apps are available to users, allowing you to block off data-hungry apps like YouTube. MDM solutions also include telecom management tools, allowing you to cap data consumption when necessary.

Conclusion and Next Steps

As you can see, there are many good reasons to lockdown Android tablets. It will ensure that anyone who uses a tablet you own will do so as you would like them to. Plus, locking settings menus and tracking data consumption can save significant time and money in the long run.

If you need an MDM solution with robust lock-down functionality, look no further than SureMDM by 42Gears. SureMDM includes access to SureLock, an industry-leading device lockdown tool. With SureMDM, you can secure, monitor, manage, and lock down devices from a convenient central console.

If you’d like to see SureMDM and SureLock in action for yourself, you can start a 30-day trial right now.