Most small businesses have similarly small IT departments, which limits their ability to manage a whole fleet of devices. This situation often results in security taking a back seat with many companies, even though they understand the risks they face.
Generally, to set up devices on a mobile device management (MDM) system, an administrator (or someone) needs to make sure that security is supplied to the device, which can be costly and time-consuming.
Research supports these claims. In Verizon’s 2019 Mobile Security Index Report, two-thirds of organizations said they were less confident about mobile security compared with security related to other types of devices, while 85 percent expressed a desire to take mobile device security more seriously.
The need for better security is clear, but money and time can put those goals on the back burner. Android Enterprise Essentials, a new offering from Google, could help businesses add devices securely while minimizing the headaches they face in the process.
DISCOVER: Learn more about how to enable a mobile workforce.
What Is Android Enterprise Essentials?
Android Enterprise Essentials aims to simplify mobile security for small businesses, supplying devices to end users that are inherently secure by tying devices to specific users and establishing secure mechanisms that cannot be wiped.
The inspiration for this offering came from the realization that many companies aren’t taking steps to protect devices on their own. According to research from IDC, 85 percent of Android devices sold to businesses aren’t managed by an enterprise mobility management (EMM) tool at all. Many small businesses need help in simplifying the security process.
Android Enterprise Essentials aims to make security foolproof. Devices are delivered to individual users with the required policies already attached. These policies cannot be removed by the end user.
Android Offers Benefits to the Enterprise
While the solution’s simplicity is helpful to technology teams, from an end-user standpoint, one of its main benefits is familiarity. Android devices make up 86 percent of the global smartphone market, according to IDC.
Further, Android’s open architecture encourages a wide device ecosystem, which creates numerous opportunities for businesses to offer employees a range of specialized devices — from low-end smartphones to tablets and high-end devices — based on their needs.
An additional benefit for Android devices is Google Play Protect, which secures the devices from malware.
How Android Enterprise Essentials Makes Management Easier
With Android Enterprise Essentials, Google aims to fill a gap in the market for small businesses — particularly those that need better security but wish to avoid additional complexity — with a low-cost solution that provides a level of device security without user intervention.
For organizations that already have a solid MDM infrastructure, Android Enterprise Essentials can provide a way to expand the organization’s device pool quickly.
Ultimately, Android Enterprise Essentials can help organizations set a mobile security baseline at an affordable price — or help those with an existing infrastructure fill in the gaps.
Google, Android and Google Play are trademarks of Google LLC.
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