In the last five or so years, the complexity of enterprise mobility systems has increased considerably. More devices and more mobile work by employees means companies must find solutions which enable management in and out of the office—and even on employee devices the company doesn’t own.
As this transition to mobile work has taken place, we’ve also seen a rise in the number of companies like App47 offering their own unique solutions to enterprise mobility management. All of which means that, if you’re the one making the decision about which software to use, you have a seemingly difficult decision on your hands.
What, then, should be on the table as you’re picking an EMM vendor?
Although we can think of our own priorities to keep in mind when making this decision, you don’t just have to take our word for it. Writing for RCRWirelessNews, AOTMP’s J. Gerry Purdy offers up a great list of criteria to consider. In his view, these are a few things you should keep in mind when selecting a vendor for your enterprise mobility management needs:
- Alignment of your requirements with the vendor’s solution: Purdy describes EMM as a combination of mobile device, application, content, and security management. Ask yourself: which of these elements is most important to your business? What does the vendor offer, and how does it align with your needs?
- Customer support: Though this should be part of any vendor selection process, it’s especially important with EMM software because so many pieces are in play. “The IT department,” Purdy says, “needs to evaluate which company will give them the best support after the sale.” It’s essential to pick a vendor that changes with the times and can help you adapt to the new and the next.
- Previous customer satisfaction: How satisfied are current or past customers of the vendor? In addition to supporting the vetting process, Purdy makes a good point that speaking to customers can offer insights you wouldn’t otherwise get. It would be helpful to speak to customers with businesses both similar and dissimilar to your business to get a feel for how the vendor responds to a variety of different needs and use cases.
- Integration with company systems: Finally, because there are so many moving parts at play in EMM, it’s important to ensure the vendor offers a solution that integrates well with the other systems you have in place for managing mobility. Note, however, that this doesn’t need to mean direct integration of software; rather, the goals of (and strategy behind) the vendor’s solution must closely align with your company’s overall management strategy.
Some of these may seem like obvious criteria, but they’re still worth mentioning. In reality, there’s a lot more to EMM than many people realize. It’s not “just apps”—it’s seeking out a system that simplifies the management of devices, content, security, and applications. With that in mind, it’s essential to make sure you’re checking off all the right boxes when picking an EMM vendor.
Mobility management in the enterprise may have gotten more complicated in recent times, but the decision-making process doesn’t have to be. If you’d like to learn more about how App47 can help your organization streamline its mobility management program, get in touch today.
