You’ve heard of MDM. You’ve heard of MAM. You’ve heard of EMM. But what about UEM?
UEM, or unified endpoint management, seeks to shift from EMM towards a more holistic solution. As tech writer Ravi Kumar explains, “a UEM solution is able to manage a device from the top down and able to manage a device ‘out of the box’ with the original OS on the device.” Kumar explains that UEM aims to be more comprehensive than other enterprise mobility solutions.
In another article about UEM, Enterprise Mobility Exchange explains that UEM focuses on “all new endpoints in the enterprise, including wearables and the Internet of Things.” Put another way, UEM should in theory provide a single pane of glass into everything happening in the enterprise, across whatever device your employees happen to be using.
Fortunately, all is not lost for MAM. Far from it, in fact. MAM continues to be a terrific solution for many businesses, and MAM is especially valuable in today’s work-from-home environment. Even in 2020, you’d be surprised how many companies still have yet to take the first step into the enterprise mobility/mobility management space. It’s important to set a foundation and build out a solid mobility strategy before even thinking about something as complex as UEM–and UEM may even be overkill for many organizations.
Having a firm grasp on how your employees work and what their needs are is a critical first step before moving towards any solution. Trying to implement a comprehensive solution without a competent mobility strategy is just asking for trouble, and MAM provides many of the key capabilities most organizations need with regards to device management and workflow.
As of now, UEM remains a nascent category–MarketWatch estimates that the UEM market is currently just $1.43B, compared to the over $200B accounted for by the global EMM market. While there is undoubtedly some legitimacy to the notion of continuing to streamline processes in the enterprise, it remains to be seen just how much of a splash UEM will see in the enterprise mobility market.
So: what do you think? Is UEM the next frontier in enterprise mobility?
—
Photo by Tim Swinehart on Unsplash
