The word is out: Remote work is here to stay. With over two-thirds of organizations planning on maintaining work-from-home for the long-term, employees and organization’s alike are gearing up for a sustained investment in dispersed teams.
That means new opportunities from productivity gains, remote collaboration, and investments in IT infrastructure. Yet the challenges associated with building a future-ready team persist, particularly when it comes to device management. As a result, the short-term fixes organizations put in place during their remote work shift are now giving way to new, more comprehensive solutions.
Overcoming these challenges means not only creating a more effective organizational structure, but also unlocking the ability to truly work from anywhere. Enter Tangoe’s Work from Anywhere Program.
Challenges of Device Management
Among the most notable changes many organizations undertook in 2020 was the loosening of restrictions on bring-your-own-device policies, with a whopping 85% of organizations allowing employees to work from their own laptops, smartphones, tablets and other devices. Necessity dictated innovation, and organization leaders acted to ensure a continuity of operations amid uncertainty.
But it’s not just BYOD that is driving organizations to rethink their mobile strategies and how devices are managed. Corporate-liable lines of service, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and other endpoints are also contributing to the challenges associated with work-from-anywhere. The upshot? Over a year after this transition, organizations have identified several benefits and risks. The ever-widening array of different devices creates complexity in operations, leading to troubleshooting delays despite the productivity gains unlocked by mobile work.
Supporting all the disparate devices in a work-from-anywhere model is quickly overwhelming already stressed IT departments. Home infrastructure challenges, cybersecurity threats, procurement and fulfillment issues, lack of communication, limited resources and experience with work-from-anywhere models, performance tracking, virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) limitations, and security and compliance issues are bringing into focus the on-premise nature of most IT support and security systems. Aside from the infrastructure and security challenges, there are also issues related to knowing where the devices are, who has them, and what was paid. Organizations are actively sourcing technology and partner solutions to assist; however, the approach is often silo’d and adds increased complexity, making the situation worse than it was before.
Centralized Device Management
Building a scalable work-from-anywhere program means streamlining and unifying device management. Tangoe’s Work-from-Anywhere program is designed to simplify and centralize device lifecycle management. Centralized device management is not just an application or a piece of software. It’s a strategy designed to give organizations a holistic view into what they have, who is using it, and what they’re paying.
Through our Mobile application, team members can use the self-service portal to order, receive, and set up their devices, which arrive pre-installed with the apps they need and necessary accessories. Moreover, employees can also request repair or replacement of their device through the same centralized order system .
Work-from-anywhere also requires a comprehensive inventory component. Tangoe’s Mobile application establishes and maintains the catalog and inventory record of all mobility assets, including corporate-liable lines of service, mobile devices, bring-your-own-device (BYOD) assets, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and other endpoints. Mobile syncs inventory to the organization and users and provides role-based visibility and actions. It can also enable and process all Move, Add, Change, and Delete (MACD) actions to keep inventory current.
This approach goes beyond deployment and runs throughout the entire device lifecycle. Every future step, from onboarding to upgrading and replacement, occurs with a level of oversight needed to retain a competitive advantage through enhanced team productivity and cost containment
IT Oversight
While workers can manage their time more effectively thanks to their mobile resources, a lack of visibility into who’s doing what, and from what device, can hamper the long-term effectiveness of an organization. IT teams need this kind of data to provide the best technical support possible.
By the same token, remote employees can often be at a loss when it comes to accurately and quickly resolving help tickets. Troubleshooting across devices and time zones can be a time-consuming process, particularly when IT staff are attempting to provide support over the phone.
Yet with Tangoe’s unified work-from-anywhere program, bringing device management under one umbrella, IT teams can act without delay. Real-time, 24/7 remote diagnosis is far more attainable with employees working on verified devices and utilizing our Mobile Help Desk service.
Users of the Mobile application can resolve many of their wireless problems using the self-service resources available in the solution, including chatbot, Smart Walk-thrus, and static documentation. However, should the self-service resources not resolve the issue, additional support tiers are available that can provide live phone support.
Better yet, the total time teams spend on troubleshooting decreases as these mobile devices see wider use. IT has access to the right analytics data to inform future decisions based on experience—they learn how to resolve the most common issues more quickly, then implement solutions that gradually reduce the number of tickets filed to increase successful results.
Holistic Security
Organizations hesitant to adopt BYOD policies often cite security as a concern, with personal devices twice as likely to be infected with malware compared to company devices. But, security concerns also exist for corporate-liable lines of service, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and other endpoints. Allowing workers to request their own, approved devices with pre-installed security solutions is a good first step, but Tangoe’s Work-from-Anywhere program can provide even more peace of mind.
The key advantage with Tangoe’s work-from-anywhere device management program is visibility. With communications unified across one’s devices, anomalies or security risks are more easily identified by expert IT staff conducting regular oversight, no matter what type of device is being utilized. For BYOD, a user’s personal accounts being separated from their professional correspondence means risks are siloed.
Meanwhile, organization leaders can make advantageous choices regarding the type of devices they provide to workers, with a full customizable suite of software, hardware, and processes available to meet the needs of the team. Security becomes less a matter of where staff are than it is about what they’re capable of achieving, without the risk of data leaks or exposure. Tangoe’s device management makes it happen.
Cost Controls
Managing expenses in remote device management can create a false front for decision makers. On the surface, it may seem as though BYOD is the most cost-effective solution—after all, using the hardware staff already have shouldn’t create new expenditures. Right?
But what about the potential costs associated with security risks? Lost or stolen network data? A terminated employee who still has the organization’s applications and network access because there was no communication that that access should be terminated? Even when the potential costs of a security breach are set aside, mobile device management still comes out ahead of BYOD when considering long-term expenditures. For those who opt to utilize corporate-liable lines of service, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and other endpoints, cost is still a major concern.
Whether BYOD or not, a large part of spend comes from the need to hire and train a Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) team to get the remote infrastructure up-and-running. Costs continue to mount as IT and technical staff support and maintain the end-to-end system.
By deploying Tangoe’s full-service work-from-anywhere device program, organizations bundle these costs into one, and gain ongoing savings as well. Tangoe’s unified endpoint management (UEM) services provide dedicated engineering and administrator resources to design, implement, and administer UEM systems, and partners with organizations to integrate and manage their computing and mobile devices. UEM Services works closely with internal enterprise IT employees and groups to help define system requirements, conduct vendor selection, design and architect UEM system solutions tailored to the organization’s requirements, as well as maintain and support UEM system solutions throughout the system lifecycle.
In addition, our Advisory Services professionals work with organizations to ensure the successful implementation and management of effective, customized expense management and cost savings strategies. These strategies are designed to support:
- Optimized world-class service provider agreements
- Success of cost savings and transformation initiatives
- Application of expense management best practices
Other services available to maximize cost savings include Mobile Logistics Services, which enables organizations to deploy, provision, configure, kit, and manage global IT assets from one centralized location. Mobile Logistics also provides full device repair, asset value recovery and environmentally sustainable recycling capabilities.
Organizations utilizing iOS devices can also take advantage of Tangoe for Apple, a completely integrated device lifecycle management solution for iPhone®, iPad®, Mac® and Apple Watch®. In addition, with a Tangoe AppleCare for Enterprise agreement, our global help desk experts team up with AppleCare experts to support Apple hardware, software, and services for every employee, including BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). Finally, organizations can maximize the cash value of their aging Apple devices with Tangoe Renew buyback program, return logistics, and secure recycling.
Because of Tangoe’s holistic approach to work-from-anywhere, savings are realized, and a 100% ROI can be realized within the first year. All it takes is a complete mobile management service to gain deeper insight into the total picture of costs, and where additional savings can be won.
Employee Satisfaction
Above all else, employees must be comfortable using the technology they’re provided, whether they’re working from the office, at home, a combination of the two, or even in far-flung locations where mobile service is available. The benefits gained by work-from-anywhere are of no use if they don’t see widespread implementation across an organization.
Luckily, team members have the most to gain through a comprehensive remote device management strategy. They earn the flexibility to optimize not only where they work but how – customizing their devices to their specifications in line with company policies and protocols. They rest easier knowing security is provided at the highest level, and, if utilizing BYOD, that their personal and professional lives are literally kept separate thanks to device management.
No matter what types of devices organizations are utilizing, significant gains can be realized with a holistic work-from-home program. The key is in simplifying the process of accessing and upgrading these devices, ensuring a long-term, unified process that’s more secure, more cost-effective, and more liberating for your work-from-anywhere talent.
Connect with Tangoe to find out how we can help you manage, simplify, and decrease costs with our work-from-anywhere program.