Is Enterprise Mobility Management only for Large Enterprises?

IT today is defining the strategy for automation and productivity for every organization. Dual mandate of bottom line improvement and top line growth is getting IT into un-chartered territory. Unlike large enterprises, Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) face unique IT challenges, mostly due to lack of know-how and resources (human and financial). Keeping up with the rapidly changing technology landscape without dedicated resources adds to these challenges.

Greater consumerization of technology has become driving force for adoption of latest technology in SMBs. SMBs have been more inclined to deploy mobile technologies in order to enhance operational efficiency that can give them an edge over their competitors. Access to business applications and data while employees are on-the-go is driving adoption. However, issues such as data security and manageability concerns need to be addressed. Diversity of device platforms such as Android, iOS, Windows etc make standardization harder. Additionally small business do not qualify for premium or top tier of support from manufacturers due to lower volumes. Not having the right support to operate a business can certainly be challenging.

In order to alleviate such issues, SMBs need to look for an apt enterprise mobility management (EMM) platform – purpose built with SMBs in mind. A platform that runs on cloud technology, has easy license management and is minutes from buy-to-deploy is ideal for SMBs. What works for large enterprises may not be appropriate for SMBs – due to resource and financial constraints. A large complex solution that goes everything under the sun may bring more management, overhead and cost than SMBs need or can afford. SMBs should look for an EMM platform that does the following:

• Support wide variety of mobile platforms, OS versions and device form factors
• Be easy to deploy, use and maintain
• Should have zero or very low initial setup costs and should have exciting pricing as the businesses scale operations
• Be cost effective – to implement as well as to maintain
• And above all, should have strong vendor support

Adoption of mobile technology is a growing trend across all sectors which introduces SMBs to unforeseen IT security challenges. An EMM platform purpose built for SMBs is more likely to meet their needs than a large complex monolithic solution. Small and Medium businesses need a nimble and quick technology partner to help with the evolving landscape of mobile technology.