Android and password policy enforcement using SureMDM
Enterprise use of Android devices is on the rise these days. Much of it is due to the availability of new security features (Android 2.2+) such as the ability to enforce password policies across Android devices and to remotely wipe any Android devices that become lost or compromised.
Suppose all employees in your organization have been given latest Android phones. Being the IT guy you are asked to make sure all those Android phones adhere to corporate security policies. If you have a few hundred devices to manage, applying password policies manually on them might not be a good idea. In fact it is a bad idea 
.
SureMDM provides a much easier method for applying password policies. You just have to create a Password Policy job. You can configure various parameters such as minimum password length, password quality (numeric, alphabetic, alphanumeric), time lapse before device auto-locks, maximum number of failed password attempts before device wipes itself.
Password Policy job in SureMDM
Once the Password Policy job is created, you can apply it at once on any number of Android phones. The job is pushed to all phones that are connected with the SureMDM server. Offline phones will receive the job when they connect with the server next time.
The password policy job is processed on the phone by SureMDM device agent that brings up Android password UI. The user is asked to set the password according to the password policy. If the user dismisses the password UI, it will be perodically asked for the same until the policy is complied with.
Conclusion
SureMDM provides an easy to use feature that helps IT teams to quickly apply corporate password policies to hundreds of Android phones across the enterprise. To try this and many other features register for SureMDM account for FREE.
Keeping track of “Under-Repair” mobile devices using SureMDM
So your employee has reported a problem with the mobile device (e.g barcode scanner not working, display is broken etc). Many times the device has to be sent to a service/repair center where thorough diagnosis and repair is performed.
How do you manage the device when it goes for repair. Most people don't have any solution and some use solutions that are very specific.
We understood this problem, worked on it and came up with a new feature that takes SureMDM to a new level. Now SureMDM is not just a mobile device management solution, it also provides complete device service and repair management functionality.
Mobile device repair
If an employee reports an issue with the mobile device the IT person can assign easily create a new ticket under SureMDM and drag the mobile device to the "Repair Center" bucket. The ticket consists of details about the problem with the device, fault code(s), name/address of service center where the device is going for repair, the person who reported the problem, date of reporting etc.
Once the device comes back from the repair, the ticket can be closed. Notes can be added while closing the ticket. Closing the ticket restores the device back to the group where it was earlier.
Mobile devices go for repair multiple times during their life time. SureMDM provides repair history of all the mobile devices. Management team can use this information to negotiate the maintenance contracts with the service or repair provider companies as they now know what their actual service needs are.
To try mobile device service and repair management and other features of SureMDM, register for a FREE account at http://www.42gears.com. You will be amazed at how easy it is to use.
Asset Reporting in SureMDM
We have added the "Asset Reporting" feature in SureMDM. Asset Reporting identifies mobile devices that are present in the mobile environment of an organization. Following information is collected from the devices (wherever it is possible) and reported to the administrators or IT managers of the company.
- IMEI
- IMSI
- Phone Number
- Serial Number
Reports can be exported as CSV files which can fed into other applications for further processing.
SureMDM now supports Windows CE 5.0 and 6.0 devices
Today we introduce management support in SureMDM for Windows CE based devices (both 5.0 and 6.0). There are thousands of devices that can benefit from this development. If you have a combination of Windows Mobile and Windows CE devices, you may well look at SureMDM for your device management needs.
You can register for a free 15-day trial of cloud version of SureMDM. You can actually evaluate the solution in minutes as there is no complicated installation of server software required.
Register for a free SureMDM account today
You can now register for a free 15-day trial SureMDM account. Click on Try Now button at http://www.42gears.com. The trial account has a limit for managing 5 mobile devices and up to 20 MB data storage.
Shoot us an email at techsupport@42gears.com if case you have any questions.
Take a tour of SureMDM, Our cloud-based mobile device management platform
New Message Notification UI in SureMDM
SureMDM provides a convenient method for IT administrators or managers to send text messages over the data network to mobile users. Latest SureMDM release implements new and better message notification UI on the mobile device. See the image below:
Mail Message Notification window on mobile device (Nix Device Agent)
Tapping on the Inbox button shows the list of all messages received so far. User can select the message and view it again with more details as shown below:
Inbox view
Text messaging is a much liked feature and we hope our effort to "applify" the UI will be appreciated.
Check out SureMDM, cloud based mobile device management from 42Gears Mobility Systems.
Best approach to deploying a Mobile Device Management system
The company leadership has identified the need for a system to effectively manage mobile devices in your organization. As the best IT guy around here you have been given the mandate to roll-out the system. You obviously will start looking for solutions in the market that can solve the problem for you. But there are few points to take care of that are mostly irrelevant of the product that you finally choose.
- Start Slow and measure the benefits: Do not try to use all the features that the chosen MDM solution provides. Select the most important ones first and then add new ones slowly. This is especially important if this is the first time you are doing such implementation.
- Start Small: Do not start with managing all the mobile devices in the organization. You have to observe how the end-user and mobile devices reacts to new policies. Keeping the working set small ensures that you can fix many issues before the full-scale deployment is done. Moreover if you go all the way initially, just in case something goes wrong, it would unnecessarily be a big effort to back off.
- Keep it Simple: If possible look for an MDM product that is easy to learn and operate. Remember there are not-so-expert members in your team. Keeping the implementation simple for them will help the organization in the long run.
More later...
How to Remote Wipe your Windows Mobile devices?
Device security is one of the prime concerns why companies deploy mobile device management solutions such as SureMDM. An important requirement is the capability to remotely wipe the critical business data (hopefully all data) residing on the device incase of loss or theft. Remote Wipe is also known as Remote Kill.
42Gears mobile device management suite comprising SureMDM and SureCop provides two ways to remotely wipe the lost mobile devices.
Using SureMDM: Go to the Jobs panel and create a Remote Wipe job. Then select a mobile device from the list and apply the Remote Wipe job. If the device is currently online, the wipe operation will commence immediately. Otherwise it will start when the mobile device connects with the server again.
Using SureCop: Send a text message containing wipe command and password from the manager phone.
wipe$password$
As soon as the remote phone receive the SMS message the wipe operation is initiated. Note that the SMS message can be sent from the registered manager phones only.
6 advantages of using a cloud-based Mobile Device Management solution
Traditionally mobile device management has been done using On-Premise solutions. Recently there has been a shift in how companies especially small and medium sized ones have started managing their fleet of mobile devices and their mobile workers. Modern way to approach this problem is to use cloud-based mobile device management solutions (e.g. SureMDM).
Mobile Device Management on the cloud
Following are a few advantages of using a cloud-based mobile device management solution instead of an On-Premise solution:
- Zero setup time: Since the solution is available on the cloud there would be no or a little setup time requirements. And most of the initial setup will be done by the service provider.
- Zero setup cost: IT departments are always under budget constraints. As an IT manager you don't have to spend any money on buying new server machines, switches, cables, power sockets (You might have already some of those items but you can use them for something else )
- No maintenance: There would be no requirement for regular server maintenance. No need to worry if the server software is properly patched up with latest service packs or any other updates or if the power systems are working properly.
- Pay as you go: Using the cloud-based mobile device management solution is good for financial reasons (budget constraints) as it has low upfront cost. You will pay as per usage or fixed subscription cost. If you have 50 mobile devices, your running cost would be much lower (linearly) than if you had 100 mobile devices.
- Operate from anywhere: Administrator does not have to log into a desktop on the company network to manage the mobile devices. He or she can remotely lock or kill a lost mobile device even while holidaying in the bahamas .
- Discontinue whenever you want: This is a real beauty. For any reasons if you intend to discontinue the cloud-based solution you can pull the plug as and when you want. There is nothing to dispose or take care of. Decommissioning an on-premise solution is sometimes not very straightforward.
There are some real advantages of using on-demand mobile device management solutions running in the cloud.
Check out SureMDM, cloud based mobile device management from 42Gears Mobility Systems.
Run scripts remotely on mobile devices [New SureMDM Feature]
We have added a powerful scripting support in SureMDM. You can write scripts to Run, activate, hide, close, kill programs, delete files. Many people use scripts to define pre and post install instructions such as deleting files after installing CAB files.
Examples: (There is no relation among the following commands)
Copy( "\My documents\test.txt", "\Storage\text.txt" )
Rename( "\oldname.txt" , "\newname.txt")
Delete( "\abc.txt" )
CreateShortcut("\Windows\Start Menu\Test.lnk","\Test.exe")
Scripts Jobs can be created in the SureMDM Web Console and then deployed to the mobile devices. Script commands are executed on the devices (using MortScript engine). Read this to learn what operations you can perform as scripts.
SureMDM is an On-demand mobile device management platform. You can experience SureMDM live demo at http://www.42gears.com/suremdm/guestlogin.html. Learn more about the product here.