MDM
Mobile Device Management
A centralized system that allows a company (or other organization) to remotely manage the phones and other mobile devices used by its employees. This can include automations that make using the device for work easier, as well as restrictions that protect the organization's data.
MDM is often standard on organization-owned devices (a "work phone".) But it can also be applied to a personal device (BYOD, or Bring Your Own Device). When a personal device is enrolled in MDM, the OS may divide the phone into work and personal partitions that keep work and personal data (and apps) separate. On Android, this is called Work Profile. iPhones have a similar feature that operates in the background called containerization.
MDM can automatically give employees access to secure company Wi-Fi networks and secure remote access to company networks via a VPN. It can also give employees access to special apps that may not be available to the public.
MDM can also apply restrictions to a phone, such as enforcing security policies around passwords and biometric login, requiring security updates, and even disabling the camera.
Last updated Thursday by Rich Brome
Editor in Chief Rich became fascinated with cell phones in 1999, creating mobile web sites for phones with tiny black-and-white displays and obsessing over new phone models. Realizing a need for better info about phones, he started Phone Scoop in 2001, and has been helming the site ever since. Rich has spent two decades researching and covering every detail of the phone industry, traveling the world to tour factories, interview CEOs, and get every last spec and photo Phone Scoop readers have come to expect. As an industry veteran, Rich is a respected voice on phone technology of the past, present, and future.
