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Factors When Choosing Mobile Devices for Your Business

How do you identify the key considerations when selecting mobile devices for your business?"

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Your company may already have a flexible mobile device management place, such as BYOD or CYOD, but as OEMs release new models and consumer/employee preferences shift, it's never a bad idea to research which mobile devices are the most suited to your needs.

When it comes to enterprise mobility management, both iOS and Android platforms have their own advantages and disadvantages. Android has caught up to iOS in recent years, especially with the introduction of Android Enterprise, making it a viable option for businesses. Mixed environments with both iOS and Android devices are prevalent, and it's important to weigh the pros and cons of each platform before making a decision that best fits your organization's needs

Before diving headfirst into a massive device purchase, take heed: testing a small number of devices is the key to ensuring a perfect match for your business needs. What may work seamlessly on a single device can quickly become a nightmare when scaled across multiple models. Don't be fooled by big names; even well-known manufacturers can fall short of their own promises

Let's have a look at the advantages and disadvantages of each platform.

iOS

There isn't much diversity in how they handle device management features because Apple makes all iOS devices. The features are supported are largely determined on the iOS version of the device.

Apple still supports older Apple models and provides frequent iOS updates, making them acceptable for corporate use. As a result, in business settings, the lifecycle of Apple devices is usually longer than that of Android devices.

iPhones and iPads can be treated the same way in terms of device management.

A corporation can join Apple's Device Enrollment Program (DEP), which makes it very easy to deploy company-owned devices and gives them a lot more control. Most crucially, once a device is DEP-enrolled and supervised, the end-user can never remove it from the remote management system.

As a result, the corporation is required to purchase all Apple devices from Apple authorized resellers. The disadvantage is that employees cannot readily use their personal iOS devices for work because they can never be DEP-enrolled.

However, Apple Configurator may be used to enable supervised mode for privately owned devices, which enables most remote management functions. However, this requires wiping the device first, and even after that, users can always remove a supervised device from the management system if they like.

Another need for using Apple Configurator with iOS devices is that you have a Mac computer and a cable.

Apple's environment isn't as open as Android's, which could make it difficult to integrate with other systems.

Android

Android is a powerful and secure platform that provides businesses with complete control over their mobile devices. With the introduction of Android Enterprise, this platform has become even more attractive to organizations as it offers open-source flexibility and several features tailored to enterprise mobility management. As a result, Android is quickly becoming one of the most popular solutions for mobile device management.

Android provides essentially the same device management benefits as Apple's DEP. Android, on the other hand, may make managing personally owned devices a little easier for some. As a result, Android excels in BYOD contexts.

Users of Android devices understand how to manage their device's dual-use (personal and professional). Users can quickly view what data and applications are included in the secure container for work usage, as well as what data and applications are available for personal use outside of the work container. This aids in the separation of work-related applications and data from personal use.

On Android 7.0 (or newer) smartphones, you can even password-protect the entire work container. This is a useful feature if the user's children use the same device for gaming because they can't mistakenly access the password-protected business apps. On the iOS platform, customers can't see whether apps have been manually installed or through the company's management profile, so they can't know what would be lost if the management profile was deleted from the device. Also, on the iOS platform, some specialized apps cannot be password-protected.

Many OEMs produce Android devices, and some lesser-known manufacturers may be risky because the devices may have identical IMEI codes or other serious flaws. Android devices from Google or other well-known OEMs are the safest options.

Aside from these manufacturers' flagship models, some devices may have a much shorter lifecycle, with limited support for Android updates.

When selecting an Android smartphone for your business, sure it is at least version 6 and not older than that. This is due to the fact that many of the newer device management solutions are not supported by earlier Android variants.

Windows Phone

Because the platform's future is unknown, as reported by the international smartphone OS share, the Windows Phone platform is not recommended for commercial use.

Conclusion

To summarise, choosing between Android and iOS can be a difficult option.
Some of the elements that can be considered include, but are not limited to:

  • The ability to perform platform and security updates
  • The necessity of separating a user's personal and professional apps
  • A BYOD, CYOD, or company-owned device setting
  • Android offers more flexibility and customization options than other mobile platforms
  • Android has robust security features to protect devices and data
  • Android for enterprise mobility management provides a wide range of devices at different price points to suit different business needs and budgets

It may, however, come down to a matter of personal preference. Fortunately, you may combine the best of both worlds and utilize both gadgets for distinct purposes side by side.