Understanding Enterprise Mobility Security
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The BYOD trend initially raised concerns within IT departments due to employees bypassing existing security controls and using unmanaged devices to access corporate networks and data. Mobile device management (MDM) software was introduced as the primary security measure for enterprise mobility solutions. It allowed IT to remotely wipe devices, enforce passcodes, and control user actions on smartphones and tablets.
To address employee reluctance in granting IT control over personal devices, more granular security measures have been developed. Mobile application management (MAM) enables IT to control and secure specific apps without managing the entire device. Some MAM technologies use application wrapping to provide management capabilities directly within an application's code, while others create secure containers for groups of apps, isolating them and their data from the rest of the device.
Identity and access management (IAM) allows users to log in to various corporate applications, including desktop, mobile, and cloud apps, using a single set of credentials. This simplifies the management of multiple user accounts per employee, reducing security risks.
These security measures, including MDM, MAM, and IAM, are typically bundled together as part of larger enterprise mobility management suites.