Diversity is root of MDM difficulties

Mobile device management is becoming increasingly difficult for companies as handset manufacturers continue to introduce new devices to the market.

According to a recent CIO magazine report, the diversity of smartphones used by employees within a single company causes headaches for the IT department. With multiple devices come numerous smartphone platforms and varying contracts.

"Everybody in the organization is excited about the promise of greater freedom, convenience and productivity afforded by a new generation of powerful mobile devices, but for CIOs that promise seems to mostly involve a lot of headaches and sleepless nights," Matt Rodgers wrote for CIO.

This is causing CIOs to weigh the perceived benefits of these devices against the potential data security risks and costs they present.

However, with an MDM solution in place, companies can control these challenges by ensuring that funds are properly allocated for wireless billing and device usage is controlled in order to avoid costly overage charges.

The consumerization of enterprise mobility is a topic that is currently stirring much debate in the industry. More so than ever, employees are bringing consumer-based devices - such as iPhones and Android-based smartphones - to work and using them for both personal and business tasks.