Glossary · Management

MDM

Mobile Device Management

In plain language

The system that lets you set rules on work phones and tablets, such as requiring a passcode or wiping company data if one is lost.

The metaphor

Like a master key system for a fleet of company vehicles: one office sets the rules and can lock a vehicle remotely if it goes missing.

Going deeper

How it works

Devices enrol in a management service.
Rules are pushed to them: passcode, encryption, approved apps.
A lost device can be locked or have company data wiped remotely.
Personal phones can be managed for work data only.

What can go wrong (example scenario)

A five-person real estate brokerage's agent lost her phone in a taxi. It had no passcode and her work email open. The finder had every client's contact details and a thread about a pending offer before she noticed it was gone.

How WILDCARD handles it

WILDCARD does not yet have a live mobile management card. A passcode rule and a remote wipe path for phones with company email are worth setting up either way.

In practice

A dental office requires a passcode and encryption on any phone that opens the practice email.
A law firm wipes the work profile from a departing associate's personal phone on her last day.
A contractor pushes the job-site app and Wi-Fi settings to every crew tablet at once.

Example scenario: A small non-profit's outreach worker had her tablet stolen from a car. It was enrolled in MDM. The device was locked and the work profile wiped within ten minutes of her call. The insurer replaced the tablet, and no client record ever left the organization.

A question owners ask

Can MDM see my staff's personal photos and texts?

With a work profile on a personal phone, no. The business manages only the work side. On company-owned devices the business controls the whole device, which should be stated plainly in the device policy.

Related terms

Something here sounds like your problem?

Every WILDCARD card exists to solve one named problem. Find yours.

Pick your problem →