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Understanding the Difference Between MDM, MAM, EMM, and UEM

Solutions Review explains the differences between mobile device management, mobile app management, enterprise mobility management, and unified endpoint management.

There are various tools that fall under the mobility management umbrella, such as Mobile Device Management (MDM), Mobile App Management (MAM), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM), and Unified Endpoint Management (UEM), that can easily cause confusion in users. Implementing the wrong strategy can cost a business money and affect company morale. Understanding the difference between MDM, MAM, EMM, and UEM is a way to avoid enforcing a plan that isn’t right for your organization. Let’s take a look at the various types of mobility management tools and see what each one has to offer.

Download Link to MDM Buyer's Guide

Mobile Device Management (MDM)

MDM gives your IT department the opportunity to track, manage, and secure an employee or corporate-owned device. Each device and employee typically has a profile that is created just for them and their specific tasks. An MDM solution means a business can configure Wi-Fi access, as well as install and manage enterprise apps. MDM also enables an IT department can remotely lock and wipe a device if it’s lost or stolen.

Mobile Application Management (MAM)

Mobile application management has a tighter focus, as it allows a business to lock down enterprise applications and the data within the apps. With an MAM tool, a business isn’t able to control the device itself, just access to business applications and the content connected with them. This way, if an employee leaves a company, IT can remove business data without impacting the personal data on a phone.

Corporate email is reportedly the most popular form of MAM, ComputerWorld reported, but employees can get access to a menu of apps including sales support, cloud storage, and more. Copy and paste features can be restricted or limited, which means sharing corporate data with unapproved apps would be difficult. Implementing an MAM tool also means apps can be updated with new features and patches right away, which may help thwart an attack.

Unified Endpoint Management (UEM)

Unified endpoint management allows IT to remotely control, change, and secure mobile devices, desktops, and Internet of Things devices. This kind of tool can manage devices across various platforms, lockdown hardware and secure data. However, ComputerWorld reported that this type of solution doesn’t feature a full set of tools. That will soon change though, as UEM products are reportedly becoming more capable by uniting the management of laptops, desktops, and mobile devices into a single solution.

“Some vendors are further along than others in terms of a full set of features and having the broadest set of devices supported,” Phil Hockmuth, program director for Enterprise Mobility research at IDC, told ComputerWorld. “Most vendors can manage Windows 10 equally well at a base level, as they all access a common set of APIs and management hooks in the OS for MDM-based management.”

VMWare, MobileIron, and BlackBerry are just some of the providers that have added UEM capabilities to their offerings in order to secure Windows and various other endpoints including Chromebooks.

Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM)

EMM solutions allow a business to remotely configure and manage devices through MDM and MAM. An EMM suite would typically hold another tool, like MDM, under its umbrella; this type of solution can control access to corporate apps and websites, as well as the connected data.

All the different types of mobility management tools can be overwhelming and confusing at first glance. However, when you understand the difference between them, you are also able to better understand how they relate to each other. Through this knowledge, determining the right set of management tools for your mobility strategy will be simpler.

Looking for more info on the benefits of mobility management? You should check out our free Mobility Management Buyer’s Guide. We profile the top vendors in the mobility management field, list their key capabilities, and determine our Bottom Line for each.

Check us out on Twitter for the latest in Enterprise Mobility news and developments!

Download Link to MDM Buyer's Guide

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