Manage And Secure Your Mobile Devices' Data

Think back to the last time you lost or misplaced something. Depending on the item, the hassles, risks, and ramifications can be enormous. Imagine if one of your employees left his or her PDA on a plane, or if a field service worker lost a handheld computer somewhere along his route. There is sensitive, valuable information on that mobile device about your company, and who knows whose hands it could fall into. Now multiply that result by the number of employees in your organization. Scary, isn't it?

Some companies have actually experienced a mobile security breach and understand the risks it can cause. "Knowing that your information - or more importantly, your customer's information - is out there somewhere, in an unknown person's hands, can be paralyzing," says Jeffrey Siegel, chief marketing officer of Extended Systems (Boise, ID). "Organizations don't want to experience that again." Others may know of tales and want to head off a similar experience. A well-circulated tale in this arena is of a former Morgan Stanley executive who sold his PDA on eBay, and the buyer discovered hundreds of confidential e-mails and files of client data. At another financial institution, two employee laptops containing confidential, personal customer information were stolen from a car. Because the laptops were protected only by a simple Windows log-on password, the company had to notify approximately 200,000 customers of the breach and the customers' exposure to potential identity fraud.

In certain verticals, such as government, financial services, or healthcare, mobile devices are at an even higher risk because of the sensitivity of the data on the devices. "Organizations are faced with government-mandated rules and regulations on data security, such as Gramm-Leach-Bliley, Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPAA, and California SB1386. A lost mobile device with confidential data could represent a violation of these regulations, causing an organization to face fines of up to $25,000 a day for as long as the violation persists, plus legal liabilities and even brand damage," says Ian Gordon, VP of marketing at CREDANT Technologies (Addison, TX).

How Can You Secure Your Mobile Devices?
A mobile device management (MDM) solution can alleviate some of these fears, while at the same time reduce the burden on your IT department. MDM is software that enables a company to activate, troubleshoot problems, download software, and manage its mobile devices, all from a central location. "Providing the management consists of several elements, including administration, backup/restore features, software distribution, asset management, reporting capabilities, and security," says Siegel. The security features offered by some MDM solutions include password protection, location of devices accessing the network, data access restriction, and the ability to "kill" a lost device.

Mobile devices like PDAs and smart phones present the largest challenge to organizations because they can be brought into the network without the IT department's knowledge. "A lot of times people buy their own PDAs or PocketPCs, bring them in and download their address books, current files, or other information," says Gordon. "The organization has no way of knowing what has happened. But because corporate data is on those devices, a business needs to make sure the devices are secure." Some MDM products include an agent that locates mobile devices coming into the enterprise and gives the IT administrator the ability to install security programs on the device.

Deploy 1 Or 1,000 Devices In Minutes With MDM
"An MDM solution should address two main areas: deploying software and providing answers if there are problems," says Carl Rodrigues, president of SOTI, Inc. (Mississauga, Ontario). Most solutions allow a company to manage all of its mobile devices from one location. Deploying a new fleet of devices, no matter how many, can take minutes, rather than weeks. For instance, if an organization adds 1,000 more couriers to its fleet, it will also need to deploy 1,000 new mobile devices. If an IT administrator has to manually install 5 or 10 software programs onto each device, the time spent - and margin for error - is enormous. An MDM solution can create a provision that the first time the devices are turned on, they will connect to the network. Then the appropriate software programs can be automatically downloaded in minutes, to all devices at once.

In that same vein, continuous administration of the devices is more efficient, too. "An MDM solution can track devices, their memory, bandwidth, and connectivity habits, all from one location," says Siegel. "The solution also eliminates the need for users to bring their devices into IT for software upgrades - the upgrades can be downloaded to all of the devices during a routine synchronization."

Troubleshooting problems is also simplified and much more cost effective, as Rodrigues says. When a warehouse or remote location has trouble with its mobile devices, users normally send the devices back to IT for troubleshooting, halting their productivity. Alternatively, a technician may be flown out to troubleshoot on-site, accumulating labor and travel expenses. With most MDM solutions, IT administrators can remotely access the malfunctioning devices, troubleshoot within the device, and fix the problem. The patch or remedy can then be passed through to similar devices, if necessary.

An MDM Solution Can Cost A Fraction Of Your IT Budget
Most MDM solutions are based on per-user fees, with a licensing and/or server fee set in yearly increments. Per-user fees can range from $75 to $200, or higher if the server and policy fees are included. Basically, an MDM solution for 500 users can range from $75,000 to $125,000. The Gartner Group (Stamford, CT) estimates that the total cost of ownership of mobile devices (without centralized MDM) can cost about $4,000 per user per year, which translates to about $2 million for 500 users. With that said, an MDM solution is not a significant cost add-on to an existing, million-dollar-plus IT budget. "You're not talking about adding 50% or even 30% to an IT budget," says Siegel. "Companies with a large mobile workforce already have a significant IT budget to maintain the force."

An MDM solution is not for every business, though. Small companies that use handheld computers on-site or businesses with a small mobile fleet cannot realize enough benefit to justify an investment in the solution. But if your business has a large or far-flung mobile user population, MDM is something to consider.