Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 12 | Page 42

FEATURE: MOBILE DEVICE MANAGEMENT desktop interfaces and software differ so significantly that organisations struggle to deliver a consistent end user experience. All too often, employees face a frustrating process of familiarising themselves with multiple ways of accessing their work applications, because it can greatly differ across their phone and laptop devices. Furthermore, the proliferation of devices and operating systems poses an ongoing challenge to IT teams. IT is under relentless pressure to support Windows 10 and Mac laptops, Chromebook notebooks, and Android and iOS mobile devices, and to change configurations and settings fast enough to keep pace with every new device or software release. The more types of devices IT needs to support, the greater the pressure grows. IT has traditionally used one set of tools to manage /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// BY LOOKING BEYOND KNOWLEDGE WORKERS TO ANY DEVICE USED BY ANY EMPLOYEE, ORGANISATIONS CAN KEEP AN EVEN CLOSER EYE ON THEIR OVERALL OPERATIONS. mobile devices and another to manage laptops and desktops. IT needs yet more tools to manage legacy devices, virtual endpoints, wearables, IoT devices and sensors, and so forth. At best, the resulting silos lead to costly, time-consuming duplications of effort. At worst, they create risky inconsistencies and gaps in configurations and security policies. Increasingly, companies are pushing the boundaries of device management by extending UEM (Unified Endpoint Management) to include other devices, such as vending machines, information kiosks, smart glasses and ruggedised devices for fieldwork and factory floors. By looking beyond knowledge workers to any device used by any employee, organisations can keep an even closer eye on their overall operations. n INCREASINGLY, COMPANIES ARE PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES OF DEVICE MANAGEMENT BY EXTENDING UEM TO INCLUDE OTHER DEVICES. 42 INTELLIGENTCIO www.intelligentcio.com