Why Is Mobile Device Life Cycle Management Important?
Posted on: 27 July 2020
The rise of mobile devices has changed the way people do business. To keep these important devices from creating more trouble than they solve, though, you need to have a mobile device life cycle management regimen in place. This is a process that centers on making sure all devices deployed with your employees and contractors will help them maximize productivity. Let's look at why that's important and how it can be accomplished.
Device Stability
Mobile devices can become unstable for a host of reasons. Older software may not provide sufficient support to run newer apps and websites efficiently, for example. Eventually, this will devolve into outright obsolescence as the device no longer supports the newest code running on the device. Also, mobile devices that have been in heavy use can accumulate large file caches that may bog them down.
Every business should have an annual health check as part of the device life cycle. A technician can identify problems and remedy them before they cause a device to become unusable.
Security
Keeping all devices fully updated is essential. In addition to regular maintenance, a mobile device life cycle management system may also have to send notifications to registered users about security updates. Users will then have to confirm that they've received and applied the updates.
Especially with major updates, such as operating system upgrades, it's a good idea to recall all devices. A qualified professional can apply the necessary upgrades and verify that everything is running well.
Refreshes for New Employees
When a new employee comes on board, they must have a clean device. Old files from previous users should not be present. It's also a smart idea to pull the SD cards in the devices and destroy them because skilled users can ferret data even from cards that have been previously wiped.
Retirement
Obsolescence is the inevitable fate of nearly every mobile device, no matter what your techie friend says about the durability of the Nokia phone they've had since 2003. Within a mobile device life cycle management framework, you can plan around major purchase cycles. This will allow you to time upgrades for when they will be the most valuable. Likewise, doing large buys will allow you some leverage in making bulk purchases.
The old devices need to be disposed of according to a standard set of protocols. In particular, you'll want all data aggressively wiped before devices are sold, recycled, or destroyed.
Share