Mobile device management for small business does not require an enterprise platform. What to enforce on phones and laptops, how to handle personal devices, and what to do before someone leaves.
Mobile device management (MDM) is the ability to enforce security settings on the phones and laptops that reach company data, and to remove that access when a device is lost or a person leaves. Enterprise deployments run to hundreds of policies; a company of fifteen people needs perhaps six of them. The risk small businesses actually carry is not a misconfigured policy — it is a former employee's personal phone that still receives company mail, and nobody knowing how many devices hold company data at all.
Most small businesses already have basic device management inside their email and identity provider — enforcing encryption, passcodes and update policies, and revoking access per device. That covers the list above without a separate platform. A dedicated MDM product earns its cost when you need application deployment, kiosk or shared-device modes, per-app configuration, or compliance evidence for a customer contract. Buying one before those needs exist mostly adds administration.
Wiping a personal phone is legally and practically fraught. For personal devices, aim to remove company data and access rather than the whole device, and say exactly that in the policy people sign.
Ettex Records is enough for the inventory half at this size: one row per device with holder, ownership, operating system, encryption status and the date access was last verified, tied to the person rather than to a serial number nobody recognises. When someone leaves, the row is the offboarding list, which is where small companies most often lose control of their data.
Usually not. Enforcing encryption, passcodes and updates through your existing email or identity provider covers most of the risk. Buy a platform when application deployment or contractual compliance requires it.
Technically sometimes, legally often not, and it damages trust. Remove the company account and its data instead, and set that expectation in writing before devices are enrolled.
MDM historically covered phones and tablets; endpoint management covers laptops and desktops as well. Current products largely merge the two, which is why vendor naming is inconsistent.
Patch management software finds missing updates across your devices and deploys them on a schedule. What the tools actually do, the process around them, and why patching fails for organisational reasons rather than technical ones.
Space management is the discipline of matching the property you pay for to the way it is used. What to measure, how to read occupancy data honestly, and what to do before signing or renewing a lease.
Contractor management is the process of approving contractors, checking their documents stay valid, and controlling what they do on site. What to verify, how to stop expired insurance slipping through, and what to record.