Mobility Management in the Time of Coronavirus

Your workforce is Zooming. It’s Slacking. And everybody’s hooked in to the company VPN. These days, technologies that support remote employees are not just nice to haves – they’re need to haves. And while the focus has largely been on collaborative tools that mimic the in-person workplace environment, organizations also have other “communications” needs.

One of the key areas of “communication” that organizations are increasingly paying attention to in the time of coronavirus is mobility/IoT.  Phones, tablets and other devices are playing a central role in an organization’s ability to get work done and keep productivity high, and as such, mobility management has never been more critical. And while mobility has traditionally been all about making sure that employees have the devices they need, the increase in remote work is evolving the way that companies manage their mobility/IoT processes and view their mobility management infrastructure. 

Here are the top four new considerations that we’re seeing in the marketplace as a result of the global pandemic:

1. Security – The pandemic has brought device security to the forefront of mobility management. With every device now located “off campus” and bring-your-own-device (BYOD) implementations on the rise, organizations are vulnerable to cyber attacks like never before. They need a mobility management solution that can create and manage security policies and processes from device provisioning to MDM to end of life. 
2. Self-Service – Another mobility management feature that companies are beginning to rely on is self-service. In a time where workforces might be short staffed and/or spread out across time zones and locations, the ability for employees to self-serve their own mobility needs is becoming critical. The most cutting edge mobility solutions allow employees to quickly and easily request a new device, log a device issue, etc., and get near-immediate service without having to engage mobility personnel. For example, AMI’s mobility help desk allows employees place a ticket for a new phone, bypassing 5 or 6 steps that they would traditionally have to take, and receive the new phone the next day.
3. Automation – In addition to self-service, the pandemic has brought to light the need for increased automation within mobility workflows. As we mentioned above, employees are spread out and workforces might not be as robust in numbers. This means that the traditional manual processes for mobility management (including everything from approvals to procurement to break/fix requests) can become even more of a bottleneck. But technologies that automate many of these processes and streamline an organization’s approach to mobility management can save businesses and employees time, frustration and productivity. For example, AMI’s mobility management suite of solutions, mobilityNOW, is built on the ServiceNow platform to leverage the workflow automation and escalation built within ServiceNow. Additionally, the technology automates the procurement and fulfillment process by integrating with carrier APIs where available, automatically changing the allocation code in TEM, thus eliminating the “swivel chair” effect and saving time and resources.
4. UX –It’s increasingly important that mobility management solutions have a user-friendly dashboard from which employees can successfully self-serve without frustration or confusion, but also from which mobility mangers can get a solid understanding of their mobility landscape. For example, AMI’s “smart” intuitive interface knows who the user is, what devices are associated with him/her, what plan they’re on, when they eligible for an upgrade, etc. In the time of coronavirus, when so much can fall through the cracks and there is more improvisation from employees leveraging different mobility solutions (including BYOD), a birds-eye view of the entire mobility landscape is an absolute must have.

Enhanced mobility management tools can provide companies greater control and more flexibility, and empower them to meet the “communication” needs of remote workers during this challenging time and beyond. For more information about AMI’s mobility management solution, click here, or reach out to us directly to see a demo of our smart, automated approach to mobility.