Mobile Device Inventory – the First Step in Enterprise Mobile Management

Mobile Device Inventory – the first step in enterprise mobile management

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

As phones and tablets overtake PCs as the most-often used means of connecting to company data and apps, organizations’ Software Asset Management (SAM) programs need to evolve to manage these devices and ensure that they are delivering value without introducing new risks.

This paper investigates the need for collecting and reporting on Mobile Inventory and how it needs to be part of an enterprise-wide SAM program.

SNOWSOFTWARE.COM INTRODUCTION

Enterprise computing has evolved substantially over same organizations’ software policies do not cover the past decade. In under 10 years, mobile devices – mobile devices. phones and tablets – have overtaken PCs and laptops as the most often used means of connecting to a Josh Epstein from EnterpriseAppsTech notes: company’s data and computing applications. “Enterprise mobile apps are no longer just for classic ‘mobile workers’. In fact, everyone now encounters While the early mobile devices such as the Blackberry work-related mobile moments as we navigate our (affectionately known as the “Crackberry” due to the workday. Office workers find moments walking down addictive nature of mobile email) were application- the hallway, sitting in meetings, or going to lunch. specific, the new generation of smartphones and mobile Healthcare professionals want access to application devices are beginning to take on applications that have functionality as they see patients. Sales people access largely been run from desktops and laptops in the past. customer information while in the field. Manufacturing managers access inventory and scheduling systems Software Asset Management (SAM) has steadily while walking the floor. Insurance adjusters gather evolved in recent years to manage software on the claims data while assessing damage in real time. desktop, datacenter and in the cloud, However, most And so on.” organizations are yet to include these mobile devices (whether provided by the organization or not). Snow’s So leaving the mobile estate unmanaged simply isn’t an own research, conducted in the summer of 2015, found option. But how do you start to take charge of the costs that more than 90% of organizations now provide and risks? employees with phones or tablets, yet 80% of those

DEFINING THE MATURITY MODEL FOR MANAGING MOBILE DEVICES

Just as there are different levels of maturity in terms of taking an in-depth look at ongoing vendor management Software Asset Management – where an organization – a staged approach to managing mobile devices and starts with creating a baseline of the assets deployed applications also makes a lot of sense. and an understanding of how they are being used, through to scrutinizing whether or not current license A maturity path for managing mobile devices in a SAM entitlements are being leveraged to the full and then context might look something like this:

MOBILE DEVICE MATURITY MODEL

MOBILE MOBILE MOBILE INVENTORY LICENSE MANAGEMENT DEVICE MANAGEMENT

Begin developing your inventory of Cross-check licensing across Take full control over mobile connected smartphones and mobile, enterprise and desktop to devices, including in-ﬁeld resets, tablets as the starting point. ensure compliance and full value update, and wipes of all enterprise from entitlement rights. data and applications.

SNOWSOFTWARE.COM To understand this path, and the component the hardware characteristics of the device as well as the requirements, let’s look at each stage in more detail. apps installed. This can be seen depicted in the figure below. As users add apps and update existing ones, STEP 1: MOBILE INVENTORY this information is automatically fed back to the mobile The initial step towards full, comprehensive mobile inventory so company management has a current and device management is to develop a baseline inventory accurate view of each mobile device. for all devices – phone and tablets, running Android, iOS or Windows. This inventory process is the essential The Snow SAM platform, with its native support for building block for everything that typically follows. all types of mobile devices running the most popular operating systems, allows an organization both to Typically, all mobile devices of interest are sent a special quickly gain visibility of the phone and tablets in use and text message which facilitates the deployment of a also bring these into a single consolidated view of all special piece of software known as a “client” that sits on IT assets including laptops and desktops, servers and the device. This client develops an inventory of both virtual devices.

STEP 2: MOBILE SOFTWARE LICENSE MANAGEMENT Indirect access (also known as indirect usage) is a Once the mobile inventory has been completed, a typical challenge that can only grow as organizations become next step would be to begin integrating software license increasingly reliant on mobile devices accessing back- management capabilities into the picture. Mobile end systems. Staff accessing customer, manufacturing, devices are associated with people and have software supply-chain, logistics or finance data supplied by SAP applications deployed on them. Software licenses are and other datacenter software vendors need to be often associated with a particular application and these monitored, managed and ultimately paid-for. devices and their software entitlements are managed for efficiency and compliance. As end-users within a company shift their access patterns to data and applications to their mobile devices, software As an example, an Office 365 user would generally be vendors will shift their licensing and audit focus to assure entitled to access Microsoft’s office applications on they are capturing their share of licensing spend. their PC, a number of mobile device and on the cloud under one single user license. Advanced Software Asset We’re already seeing a strong shift towards software Management solutions like Snow License Manager can vendors holding a microscope to indirect access in be used to develop these interconnections and ensure software audits and there is a lot of money to be both compliance and cost optimization. made from companies that don’t understand their current position.

SNOWSOFTWARE.COM STEP 3: MOBILE DEVICE MANAGEMENT and uses of the device remotely. For example, if a user Once the inventory and license optimization challenges forgets a password, the device can have a password have been addressed, organizations can then consider reset done remotely. Another example might be a full enterprise device management as a way to complete situation where a user loses their mobile device. A the circle in terms of managing the full lifecycle of remote “wipe” of the phone can be carried out through mobile devices. the enterprise mobility solution so that no company data is exposed. Some of the core features of mobile The need for mobile device management is strong not device management include: only because of the access that these devices have to • Security management sensitive information but because of user attitudes to them and the data and apps they hold. Although • Data protection an increasing number of devices are issued by the • Integration with Service Desk Support organization to employees for work purposes, there is • Software distribution and synchronization still a strong sense among most users that a mobile is a personal device and thus is often used for personal • Device provisioning purposes. • Software and hardware inventory management.

The Snow research referred to earlier in this document For years, mobile devices remained outside of the found that most people with mobile devices use them management scope of enterprise IT. Given the critical for work purposes for between one and two hours per importance of these devices for productivity, their day. Potentially, private use (social media, streaming constant connectivity to company data and information, music, surfing the internet) can far outweigh the and the proliferation of these devices, we expect to see business use. mobile enterprise device management begin to take center stage in 2016. With mobile device management, the platform can be used to help manage many of the actual capabilities

SNOWSOFTWARE.COM BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER – THE DESKTOP, DATACENTER, CLOUD, SERVICE DESK AND MOBILITY

The enterprise IT environment continues to grow in based applications along with the mobility side of the complexity with each cycle of innovation. Little of the spectrum makes it easier to understand and manage legacy is wound down, so the task at hand becomes this complexity. greater in scope and thus more challenging. When all this captured and connected information can The mobile device is the latest development in be synchronized with the Service Desk, IT support can connectivity that must be properly managed by the resolve problems and issues faster, reducing down-time organization. Bringing together the licensing of the and costs. PC, the company datacenter, the cloud and SaaS-

CONCLUSION

Software Asset Management works best by identifying devices, software vendors will begin shifting the focus key priorities and breaking down a long-term plan to a of their billing and compliance audits in this direction. series of milestones or accomplishments. Incremental Those enterprises ahead of the curve will be best suited success and feedback can be had, and corrections can to handle those audits. be made with minimal loss of time and resources. Once mobile license compliance is under control, being The same holds true for managing mobile devices. able to fully manage the device - from automated The journey to full mobile device management is best software management through to the entire wiping of a started with a basic baseline inventory of devices and lost mobile device done with the click of a button - will users. At the same time, the inventory baseline can layer into the repertoire of capabilities. include software applications that are deployed on each device. This effort, while seemingly modest, can Ultimately, it all begins by understanding what produce rapid success on the path to greater goals. mobile devices are connected and under the control of your company. From there, analyzing the licensing and compliance becomes the focus to assure the true-up vulnerability is managed and mitigated. Talk to an Enterprise Mobility expert to learn about incentives for deploying mobile inventory. As end-users shift their application usage and data access patterns and data access patterns to mobile Contact your local Snow office today.

SNOWSOFTWARE.COM SNOW SAM PLATFORM

Snow license manager Snow inventory With millions of licenses sold, Snow The true multi-platform audit solution designed License Manager is the world’s leading to find devices, audit software installs and track SAM solution. usage. Software recognition service Snow integration connectors Recognize commercially-licensable Integrate Snow’s SAM platform with existing applications across the network. Inventory, ITAM and Service Management solutions.

Oracle management option Snow optimizer for SAP software Cut the costs of managing complex Manage SAP licensing to optimize one of the Oracle licenses. enterprise’s largest software costs.

Virtualization management Snow automation platform Identify and manage virtual assets across Define and implement automated process to the network. support software optimization.

Sdm Snow device manager A complete enterprise mobility management solution that handles the full lifecycle of mobile devices.

ABOUT SNOW SOFTWARE

Snow’s Mission is to stop organizations paying too high a price for the software they consume.

To bring transparency and fairness to the licensing of software across the network, Snow provides on-premise and cloud-based Software Asset Management (SAM) solutions that safeguard the US $320 billion spent each year on enterprise software: ensuring organizations realize the full benefit of optimized licensing.

Snow is the largest dedicated developer of SAM solutions, headquartered in Sweden with more than 380 staff across 16 regional locations, three development centers and local support teams in seven territories.

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