In present day world, where any business – big or small is not limited between premises, using On-Premise Solutions for Mobile device Management (MDM) is a traditional approach. The widely used alternative for companies to manage their mobile devices and mobile workers is to use Cloud based MDM. Nowadays, businesses prefer adopting Cloud-based MDM solutions as they provide more robust, secure, and flexible management services than any other available solutions.
Choosing between the two MDM models depends on a multitude of factors like the level of policies and configurations needed or the security concerns of the data being transferred. With the rapid evolution of cloud systems, these concerns are reducing, and many big and small companies are opting for the latter solutions.
Here are some of the main advantages of using cloud-based MDM solutions instead of on-premises solutions.
Cost
Cloud solutions generally involve only operational expenses in which the enterprises are charged with a monthly or annual subscription fee based on their usage of cloud services. Cloud-based implementation eliminates all those upfront costs and other additional hardware costs prevailing in On-Premises. The MDM vendor is solely responsible for updates, support, and maintenance costs. Small businesses with limited initial investments find this particularly important advantage.
Initial Set Up Time and Complexity
There are very minimal set up activities and time involved which is mostly done by service providers. As with any cloud system, since the resources are given by the providers, initial hardware cost and other software, if needed to run the MDM suite is not your worry anymore. Server setups, firewall or networking configurations will be all done for you. Companies no more need technical skills and expertise to set up these systems which saves them a lot of money and time. Only deployment time will be time you take to configure your mobile security policies and enrolling your devices with your server.
Security
Cloud-based MDMs provide enhanced enterprise-grade security measures and auditing. The data security lies in the hands of the vendor and the enterprises are relieved of their one big headache. Small businesses get the benefit of seamless enterprise-level security by collaborating with a cloud MDM vendor.
Ease of Deployment
Deployment of cloud solutions in enterprises is quick and hassle-free since no onsite installation of software and hardware is required. Usually, there’s no delay for deployment, updates, and changes as there is negligible involvement of IT and technical skills.
Disaster Recovery
Enterprises should be aware of inevitable realities like natural disasters, unforeseen incidents and operational snags. Cloud solutions securely back up your data to a remote location. It gives you various options for disaster recovery. A high availability server is another highlight of cloud MDMs. Regular data backup and power monitoring save the business from unfortunate ill experiences of data loss or business loss. In the event of a disaster, the stored data in the cloud remains unaffected and can be restored quickly.
Remote Access
Admins need not log into some specific computers on some specific networks to manage their mobile devices. They can do it from anywhere they are, making it easier and more efficient for them. Remote access enables them to execute timely actions in case of stolen or lost devices.
Maintenance
With cloud-based systems, there would be no requirement to upgrade servers or any other software solutions regularly. That will be done automatically for you. No need to worry if the server is patched with the latest service packs or any other updates.
Payment and Scalability
Since the payment is based on usage, you are always sure that you are not investing more than what you are using. Any time you can choose to increase or decrease the resources. While setting up local systems, one has to have a futuristic approach to predict the business for next few years. For example, you may be having only a hundred devices to manage now but after a year, you may be managing a thousand devices. While setting up On-Premise solution, you have to ensure that the hardware and resources that you are investing in can be used in long term. Whereas with cloud systems, if today you have a hundred devices and tomorrow you have five hundred devices, you have to only pay for how much you are using without having to worry about expanding the underlying systems and other resources.
Reliability
Cloud services require internet connectivity for workers to be more productive, either remotely or onsite. With wired and wireless broadband becoming cheaper and available virtually anywhere, it provides easy access for remote workers via multiple devices.
The data security of an organization resides in the hands of the Cloud MDM provider. Enterprises with stringent security policies and compliances often find this feature hard to digest. Of course, there are many factors to look at while choosing a Cloud-based MDM over an On-Premises solution depending upon the nature of the enterprise and the IT requirements. Cloud solutions offer a growing number of benefits for businesses and are optimizing systems by allowing them to focus on their core operations. After all, it’s a simple solution that drives improved productivity, revenue and security.
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