Businesses! Are Your Mobile Devices Working For You?

Nowadays, cellular gadgets have become quite effective and function-wealthy, attracting customers’ and agencies’ attention. A couple of communication technologies, faster processors, larger RAM, and flash reminiscences have made mobile devices suitable for installing and running enterprise packages. Such advancements help companies embrace mobility to improve their procedures, thereby growing sales and performance and reducing operational costs. The mobile tool is an essential component of any mobile solution. There are wide sorts of mobile gadgets to choose from. Most commonly used organization cell gadgets are based totally on Windows Mobile running device from Microsoft, and it has become a desired platform utilized by businesses worldwide.

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Problem

Windows Mobile is a function-packed and versatile working gadget. There is a lot an agency can take advantage of out of this platform. However, most businesses don’t want all the available features. Giving an effective cell device to a cellular team of workers can occasionally be an extreme subject as employees might use the tool for personal use in preference to for the business. Besides, organizations spend great effort developing and deploying enterprise packages. They want to ensure that the employees use the solution to its complete capability, according to the enterprise’s desire. Following are some of the challenges that need to be addressed to maximize the advantages of an answer that involves cell gadgets:

* Entertainment on the process

All Windows Mobile devices contain built-in packages like browsers, games, cell phones, etc. These can easily distract a cell employee. Playing Solitaire can waste critical running hours. This kind of cellular tool utilization is no longer favorable to agencies.

* Maintenance Problems

A worker who isn’t always very knowledgeable about Windows Mobile can, without problems, exchange the critical device settings (e., G. Network, machine files, and so forth.). Such intentional or accidental manipulation of tool settings can cause the business’s vital utility to fail. Imagine a user turns off the WiFi radio on the device while the utility transfers crucial data to the server. Results may be pricey in phrases of money and time. Too much manipulation can “corrupt” the device, which needs to be again to the IT department, once more inflicting a lack of productivity and wastage of IT assets. While the device is with IT, the cellular employee might be sitting idle, waiting for the tool to return. Loss! Loss! Loss!

* Installation of Third-party programs

Thousands of 1/3-party packages (for personal and gaming purposes) are available on the net. These packages can be easily set up on a Windows Mobile device. Installation of unauthorized 1/3-birthday party packages for personal use sincerely wastes time and disrupts the device’s operation by ingesting memory and processor assets. Besides, those applications can contain malware and viruses, which may pose a safety hazard to the enterprise.

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* Physical Data Security

Business packages are designed to work online or offline. The application will return to offline mode if connectivity isn’t always available. This makes it feasible for cellular workers to preserve operating until the connectivity is offline; the application stores the facts domestically. If the data is touchy, it is more often than not encrypted. This saves the facts from misuse if the tool is misplaced or stolen. However, once a tool is stolen, the thief can join the device with a PC via ActiveSync and copy the statistics files. Desktop-based hacking gear may be used to decipher/decrypt statistics. There must be a way to prevent the consumer from copying the data from a device.

Solutions

Locking down fashionable motive Windows Mobile devices into kiosk mode can resolve the above problems. By locking down the devices, the business enterprise can restrict users from launching and using the most effective “accredited” programs and capabilities. For example, a corporation can provide devices so that the PE can not use ininstallcelebration applications independently. Another instance could be enabling a Data-Only connection over the phone while blocking voice calls.

There are alternative techniques to lock down cellular gadgets:

Method 1: Building Custom Kiosk devices

This method requires a company to construct custom kiosk devices that meet the organization’s needs. Windows CE operating devices are most normally used to develop custom devices. This answer has subsequent benefits and drawbacks.

Advantages:

* The organization can manipulate the device’s features since necessities are tied to the hardware.

Disadvantages:

* Developing from scratch is very pricey. This may not be feasible for medium-sized groups because it requires huge upfront investments.
* It does now not make enterprise experience to construct your hardware if the required volumes are low, say if only a few hundred devices are needed.
* A custom device will need custom application development. The number of software program developers for a custom platform could be deficient, if any.
* Once custom hardware is designed and built, it’s miles very luxurious to regulate or upgrade it. This is a very unusual hassle with this technique.

Method 2: Lockdown mobile devices with equipment like SureLock Studio

SureLock Studio offers businesses electricity without problems with lockdown off-the-shelf or ruggedized Windows Mobile devices. An administrator can lock down the devices with a kiosk configuration generated by SureLock Studio. A kiosk configuration consists of which functions and applications are “authorized” for use with the cellular employee’s aid. These configurations are generated inside the shape of CAB documents, which makes it very smooth to set them up on many devices. The Kiosk CAB setup works in the same manner as any other application CAB. There are benefits of locking down the gadgets with SureLock Studio:

Advantages:

* Save charges: Enterprises should purchase off-the-shelf (HTC/ASUS/iPaq, etc.) or Ruggedized Windows Mobile gadgets (Symbol/Motorola/Intermec) and set up the business enterprise commercial enterprise packages on them. SureLock will ensure that the employee is constrained to use the device’s “authorized” functionality.
* Choice of devices: Since all Windows Mobile devices are based on the identical middle working system, businesses pick a tool version based totally on the precise functions the model might have. The business software will work on any tool model with a few or no changes.
* In Destiny, corporations can alter the kiosk configuration to permit or disallow new functions or packages. For example, the organization may decide afterward to allow cell phone users to use the devices to make telephone calls. A new SureLock kiosk configuration can be deployed with the phone feature enabled.

Disadvantages:

* As SureLock does software program lockdown of the device, hard resetting the device to manufacturing unit defaults (clean boot) will cause the loss of kiosk settings. There are a couple of workarounds. A kiosk cab may be kept inside the storage card at the side of an Autorun.Exe. After a reboot, the kiosk configuration can be hooked up to lock down the device again. Besides, a few ruggedized mobile tool vendors (like Symbol/Motorola) must help businesses construct their own Writable ROM photographs. The kiosk configuration can be stored inside the ROM and installed robotically after a clean boot.

Conclusion

Using a device like SureLock Studio makes locking down Windows Mobile devices easy and painless. Enterprises can control the usage of their cell gadgets and allow their cell employees to use them most effectively for the corporation’s gain.