Streamlining Dedicated Device Management for All Stakeholders

By Nadav Avni, Chief Marketing Officer at Radix Technologies

To say mobile devices are ubiquitous is an oversimplification. They’re not just in people’s hands and pockets. Many mobile devices also work as digital billboards, check-in counters, information boards, and self-checkout kiosks. 

Many workers use smart devices as digital clipboards, gathering data while making rounds at hospitals, factories, and warehouses. Given the traffic from all these devices, it’s really impressive how companies manage to keep their devices connected to one another via their private networks. For IT teams tasked with handling the upkeep of these mobile units, dedicated device management software often provides the answer. 

Smart Devices Everywhere

Statista reports that as of 2021, around 15 billion mobile devices are up and running (and powering) the world. This is a billion more than the global total last year. While the bulk of devices are individually-owned, many belong to companies that require instant access to information wherever they are. These firms depend on cloud data to keep information flowing between employees, clients, or partners and often deploy dedicated smart devices to keep stakeholders connected to their network. 

Smart devices are portable but powerful computers that can process data and connect wirelessly to the Internet. For most of us, smart devices means laptops, mobile phones, or tablets, right? Not quite. Smart devices also include:

• Information kiosks and check-in counters
• LED Billboards and Digital Information Booths
• Virtual Reality (VR) Devices 
• Checkout, self-payment panels, and automated teller machines (ATMs) 
• Touchscreens and digital whiteboards
• Monitoring devices

Fleet Devices Need Dedicated Device Management to Maintain Control

For smart devices that form part of a fleet, it’s essential to maintain control over each unit through a dedicated device management platform. This usually comes as an all-in-one software solution that monitors, maintains, updates, and secures devices. 

Companies need to ensure that these devices remain true to their singular purpose. This means that while a smart device can often perform multiple functions, it should only be used for a dedicated objective. Hence, LED displays should only display video and can’t be used as an internet browser. ATMs can only perform specific bank transactions and only for the user’s account. Touchscreen devices can only run authorized applications and open only official documents. 

Ensuring that these devices perform their primary function well and remain safe and secure from unauthorized use is a challenging task. For starters, imagine trying to maintain control over a thousand different devices and ensuring they all remain locked into their specific jobs? This is why the need for dedicated device management software is absolutely essential—non-negotiable, in fact—when handling an armada of corporate devices.

Different Stakeholder Levels Require Dedicated Device Management Services

Within organizations, many departments will require different access levels. In addition, many divisions will also require certain information collected from the fleet of devices in order to formulate strategies or confirm the success of campaigns. 

Apart from managing these smart devices, an ideal and dedicated device management software also allows individual units to track usage data and gather reports based on performance. This is particularly useful for gathering insights on certain metrics that show how, or if, investments in smart devices are paying off. 

Specifically, are the units being utilized properly? Are they working the whole time they are deployed? What percent of the unit’s lifetime is spent on downtime? How much time are units inaccessible due to software or hardware issues? These pieces of data—when collected, consolidated and crunched—can provide a very accurate picture of how employees and clients utilize devices to carry out tasks and achieve goals. 

The varied needs required by different users underscore the importance of assigning dedicated access levels for specific dedicated device management users. 

IT Admins

Administrators will have the ultimate say in how the devices work. They are in charge of providing access levels for users. They are also responsible for the overall maintenance and management of all fleet devices. As such, they need complete access to all functions and settings. IT admins should also have no problem remotely connecting to devices to intervene with the controls. Admins can also use dedicated device management services to retain control of devices when security issues surface and when there is a need to shut down or lock devices to prevent or limit any damage. 

Upper Management/Project Managers 

Executives often want to see how well users manage to achieve their objectives using their company-issued devices. They need to know how much time was spent using the device, which activities were most interacted with, and how many different users accessed the device. This information helps management decide on their next steps. For instance, should they acquire more devices, or should they improve certain services? 

Sales/Marketing 

Sales and marketing teams can also benefit from gathering usage data from units, especially those issued to customers such as smart TVs, tablets, or set-top boxes. Information on which applications or services are popular can help them formulate enhanced and more customized campaigns. In addition, sales and marketing people can also use a dedicated device management’s broadcast features to push messages to customers. 

Accounting

Account managers can benefit from having unique access to smart devices to gather data on subscription services and account management. Using reporting features, they can identify delinquent, expired, or idle accounts. They can forward this information to the IT administrator for the appropriate response, like shutting down or requesting a return of the said device/s. 

Tech/Customer Support

Tech and customer support access helps provide remote utility services for customer devices that require software diagnostics, updates, or rollbacks. Remote access is critical when enabling automatics services like updating firmware or resetting units to default settings. This way, support teams will request customer participation only when needed. 

Find the Dedicated Device Management Software Solution That Works for You

As more and more smart devices enter the business world (and homes), keeping track of one’s fleet devices and ensuring they work as intended is mission-critical, and a robust device management solution will enable companies to manage their fleet effectively, efficiently, and securely.

It’s thus crucial to source device management software that is cloud-based and features powerful remote access features. It should run on cloud servers that have reduced latency, feature redundancy measures, and provide end-to-end security and encryption. It should also have a working knowledge of global and local privacy protocols in order to prevent data breaches. 

Whether it be as simple as managing individual devices or an entire network, having the right device management solution is crucial to ensuring your business growth. Whether you’re a manufacturer, a third-party vendor, or a local service provider, investing in a smart device management solution will prove a sound outlay that’ll make your life easier and more efficient in many ways!