What to Consider While Choosing the Right UEM Solution for Midsize Enterprises (MSEs)

Today, most companies are dependent on mobile technologies. As such, their IT teams have to manage a wide range of devices that enable their workforces and support business operations. However, not all businesses have the same IT infrastructure. Understandably, their IT needs, too, are different. Midsize enterprises (MSEs) generally have small IT teams (10-30 IT personnel) and small IT budgets (generally, less than $20 million). These businesses strive to minimize overhead costs. Thus, their IT teams use unified endpoint management solutions to negate the need for managing multiple vendors, tools, and contracts. But what determines which is the right UEM solution for midsize enterprises (MSEs)? Let’s take a look.

The Market Context

According to the Gartner Midmarket Context: Magic Quadrant for Unified Endpoint Management report:

• UEM is just a part of the print and device management services on which MSEs spend 11%  and 15% of their resources and budget respectively. 
• Using UEM tools for patch, device, and client management helps the IT staff of MSEs focus on improving customer experience through innovation.
• UEM can help MSEs decrease the number of tools they use, thereby reducing the total cost of ownership.
• For MSEs, the right UEM solution is one that integrates well with their ITSM, endpoint security, and/or identity management tools.

Key Factors to Consider While Choosing the Right UEM Solution for Midsize Enterprises

Generally, UEM vendors build their products with the complex requirements of large businesses in mind. More often than not, midsize enterprises find such products ill-suited to their needs. Thus, they must look for vendors that specifically design UEM solutions for midsize enterprises. And they must evaluate such products based on:

• Product Capabilities – A good UEM solution for midsize enterprises must offer flexible hosting options (such as SaaS, IaaS, or on-premise hosting). It must help organizations do away with point solutions for each operating system, device, or use case. It should also be a part of an all-in-one IT service or operations management solution and integrate well with identity and access management, endpoint security, and other such tools.
• Services – IT admins of midsize enterprises may not always have the capability, time, or resources to plan and execute a UEM implementation. Thus, they must choose vendors that offer guidance and/or professional services to help with setup migration, as well as training. The right vendor must also be able to help them with industry and region-based regulatory compliance as required.
• Transparency in Pricing – Midsize organizations must ask for a full pricing disclosure, especially when considering bundled components or services.

Other Considerations While Evaluating a UEM Solution for Midsize Enterprises

Many UEM vendors targeting MSEs tailor their offerings to suit even more specific needs. Some design tools to serve the needs of particular industries or regions, while others customize the solution so businesses only have to pay for the functionalities they use. In the interest of their customers, some vendors also offer migration tools or partner with implementation services. Businesses must consider these factors also while shortlisting and finalizing a UEM solution for midsize enterprises.

What Gartner Suggests

Gartner considers (based on analyst opinion and validated references) SureMDM by 42Gears is an appropriate UEM solution for midsize enterprises “looking to manage environments with a greater diversity of devices/platforms or that are investing in technology for frontline workers.” SureMDM’s ability to manage a wide range of traditional and non-traditional endpoints; its comprehensive remote support capabilities; and its highly-rated technical support make it an ideal choice for midsize enterprises. In addition, 42Gears’ integration with ITS, patch, asset, identity management solutions also reduces the administrative burden on MSEs to set up these integrations. 42Gears also has a tiered pricing structure to suit different business needs.
To learn more about how SureMDM has been helping enterprises worldwide, please read our case studies.

Gartner Disclaimer

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.