When business is good, it grows. But once you start operating globally, mobility management becomes a different beast. Logistics headaches, cost visibility, and macro forces are all reasons why more than 80% of companies plan to change how they manage mobility to strengthen visibility, governance, and control.
There’s a lot to consider. As a managed mobility services (MMS) partner who helps companies tackle this complexity every day, we’ve found it often comes down to three questions. Let’s take a closer look.
Do You Know What You Can and Cannot Do?
Location becomes critical when crossing country lines. The same device can be governed by different rules, regulations, and security requirements from one region to the next. Here are the heavy hitters.
Data privacy and employee monitoring
U.S. employers have a lot of leeway with device monitoring, whereas many European countries – especially those under the framework of GDPR – do not. Some employers may even have to get formal approvals to use certain monitoring tools and practices.
Data residency and localization
Countries like China and Russia place restrictions on how certain types of data can be stored and transferred.
Employee consent
In the U.S., it’s not uncommon to roll out a new policy and have employees click “I agree.” In other parts of the world, it’s much stricter. In some cases, employees must be formally notified about what information is being collected and why.
Encryption and security controls
Some countries place restrictions on how encryption technologies can be used, while others have specific requirements around registration, approvals, and government access. A Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) solution is critical for managing these differences at scale, ensuring devices meet local requirements without creating a mountain of manual work. Tangoe’s MMS solution, Tangoe One Mobile, can seamlessly integrate with a variety of UEM platforms – bringing UEM into the fold of a fully connected mobility ecosystem that’s automated, data-driven, and proactive. We can also help you upgrade what you have or build a UEM from scratch.
Learn more about Tangoe’s UEM support →
Cross-border data transfers
China’s a good example, as well as the European Union. Both have strict rules around transferring personal information outside the region.
Device importation and telecom regulations
In the U.S., employees can simply walk into a store and buy a prepaid SIM card. In other countries, you need to prove your identity before receiving a SIM. In Brazil, device imports can be subject to taxes and regulatory requirements that increasecosts and extend deployment timelines. The list goes on.
Global mobility starts with knowing the rules of the road in every region where you operate. Do you want to be in a certain market knowing the challenges? On the flip side, how can you leverage regional differences to your advantage?
Need to strategize? Tangoe’s advisory services can help →
How Will You Manage the Device Lifecycle?
If you’re a smaller company expanding globally, it’s not too big a burden to ship a few devices out manually. It’s when you’re managing dozens or hundreds of employees across the globe that you need to look at options like regional warehouses (devices stocked closer to employees, arriving faster with lower shipping) or global logistics companies.
But even then, you’re still managing everything else that goes into getting a device into the right hands: procurement, inventory management, service activation, cost tracking, security policies…you name it. The volume of work at a global scale is more than most teams can handle internally, which is why companies invest in an MMS solution for full lifecycle support.
Every step, from new device orders to repairs (with Tangoe, as soon as next day) to decommissioning and recycling is handled. Mobile expense management is also built into our platform, meaning it uses automation and advanced AI at every stage of a device’s life to flag waste and optimize spending without creating more work for your team (more on this below).
How Are You Going to Account for Corporate Expenses?
The more carriers, countries, plans, and devices you manage, the harder it becomes to keep an accurate view of inventory and spending. Employees – especially in Europe – may move between regions, use multiple carriers, or rely on multi-SIM devices. Every detail and nuance changes your cost projection and available budget.
Deep visibility is paramount for keeping costs part of the equation. At minimum, you need to understand where mobility costs are coming from, who they’re tied to, and whether they’re being allocated correctly. At best, you should be using mobile expense management insights to proactively save and predict future spend.
Read our ultimate guide to cost-effective enterprise mobility →
What Will Your Inventory and Billing Environment Look Like?
Different billing formats, billing cycles, currencies, taxes, and service structures can make your head spin. And, as mentioned, maintaining an accurate inventory becomes increasingly difficult. Employees relocate, devices are upgraded, lines are reassigned, and services remain active long after they should have been disconnected. Without a centralized view, it’s easy for inventory and billing to fall out of sync.
The best global mobility programs operate on a single source of truth for inventory, billing, and usage. That makes it hard for waste to hide and tells you exactly how to optimize spending, no matter how much your environment grows.
Cross Borders with Confidence
All of this might sound like a lot, but global mobility becomes much more manageable when you have the right tools, processes, and support in place. As an award-winning MMS provider, Tangoe can help you navigate everything from global deployments and compliance requirements to lifecycle management and cost control.
Learn more about managing and securing the expanding mobile enterprise with this IDC report, and when you’re ready to bring in an expert for global mobility management give us a shout!