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What is device management?

Device management allows an organization to maintain control over their devices by applying policies which cannot be circumvented.

When you purchase a computer for use at home, the device does not have any controls in place to limit what the user can do. This is necessary because many home users are not aware of the controls which might be placed on a device and what actions might be needed to allow "privileged" use of the device. Home users are also typically looking to do "home" things: browse the Internet, do some shopping, play games, etc. While security is still a factor, there is not typically corporate data that needs to be protected.

When a computer is purchased for a business, it also does not have any controls by default. If the device is not placed under management in some way, then the company's data which is placed on the device may be subject to being tampered with, lost, or stolen. 

Device management allows a device to be governed by a set of policies. These policies allow for better efficiency of use, security, and performance of the device.  There are hundreds of possible policies which can be applied as needed depending on the organization's needs. Some common example policies are:

  • Ensuring that the device's storage encryption is enabled at all times
  • Ensuring that the device has antivirus running and up to date at all times
  • Ensuring that the device's screen is locked if the user steps away from the machine for after a certain number of minutes
  • Ensuring that a user cannot use a USB drive to bring data into or extract data from the device
  • Ensuring that necessary software to perform business functions is installed at all times and configured properly
  • Ensuring that necessary security software is installed, up to date, and functioning properly
  • Ensuring that the organization's Wi-Fi networks are added to the devices for automatic connection
  • Ensuring that the device's data can be remotely wiped if necessary

Device management often works hand-in-hand with device compliance. While device management actually changes the settings of the device, device compliance performs a passive role, checking that the device has everything in order in order to allow it to be called "compliant." For more about device compliance, check out our article.