If you’re like most small businesses, trying to keep your business protected from all angles may seem like an impossible feat. Especially when your team is using their own devices and you’re trying to keep sensitive company data safe without turning into a full-time IT manager. Between confusing advice riddled with relentless jargon and the growing pressure to adopt frameworks like Zero Trust, it’s understandable to be overwhelmed.
I’ve seen this pain firsthand. As someone who has been working with businesses of all sizes every day for over 20 years, I specialise in helping SMBs cut through the noise and take practical steps to secure their mobile environments. You don’t need an enterprise-level system or an MA in cyber security: you just need the right tools and support.
In this article, I’ll show you how Mobile Device Management (MDM) can bridge the gap between the security demands of Zero Trust and the flexibility of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD). It’s not as hard — or expensive — as you might think. And by the end, you’ll know the steps to take to protect your biggest vulnerability: your mobile devices.
Put simply, Mobile Device Management (MDM) is just software that gets installed on a phone, tablet, or laptop – essentially becoming a part of the device’s architecture. As the name suggests, it gives you the ability to control what that device can and can't do from a business perspective. That can mean anything from requiring a passcode to access email to disabling app downloads entirely. You pick from a menu depending on the level of control you need and tailor it to your business.
To be clear: installing MDM on your employees’ personal devices does not give you full access to them. You’re not reading their texts or checking their camera roll — the only thing MDM is concerned about is making sure that company data stays protected, no matter where the device goes or who’s using it. Think of it as a remote control. If something goes wrong, like a device gets lost, stolen, or compromised, you can lock it down, wipe it, or restrict access in seconds.
Before MDM, if someone lost their device with company data on it, the best you could do was cross your fingers and hope no one got in. The only real solution at the time was for businesses to incorporate a BlackBerry Server and dedicated devices to ensure data security. The first iteration of MDM simply allowed you to remotely wipe a device. This, of course, was less than ideal, considering that this included a user’s personal data.
Today, MDM has evolved into a much smarter tool. You can control app usage, enforce compliance rules, and create a work persona on a personal device without touching the employee’s private data. It’s a win-win: employees keep their privacy, and you keep your company data safe.
In this article, Callum spoke about the three core pillars to cover when investing in cyber security – devices being one of them. So, while MDM is an integral part of keeping your devices safe, it’s only one piece of the puzzle. It gives you the ability to control the environment, but you still need other cyber security solutions to keep your business safe – more on these here.
While they are a key component for business continuity, mobile devices are often the weakest link, as they usually aren’t prioritised – making them a major target. Think about it: they’re always connected, less likely to have antivirus, and usually logged into everything. While they may not have the same amount of data or the same level of access as a laptop, they’re still another way into your business. Just look at Pegasus spyware: state-level attacks can now be delivered through a simple text! This is why Zero Trust assumes everything is a threat until proven otherwise — and that includes mobiles.
If you read the previous article, you’ll be familiar with the Zero Trust: “Never trust, always verify” principle. In light of how rapidly cyber threats are evolving, this is undoubtedly a great strategy and pretty clear-cut when implemented on company-owned devices. But what happens when your organisation use their personal devices to get work done?
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) may be convenient, but it’s risky. Your employees’ personal devices are in the wild: they’re not on the corporate network, and without some kind of control layer, you’re blind to what’s happening on them. Zero Trust is all about giving you control and, therefore, demands verification at every step. This is where MDM comes into play: it gives you the tools to build that verification into the device itself. This effectively bridges the gap between Zero Trust and BYOD.
With MDM, you can:
You can go as granular and be as strict as you’d like, depending on how much control you need. But the important thing is that you're not relying on employees to remain cyber prepared and remember best practices. Instead, you're putting the rules in place for them.
At this point, you might be wondering how complicated all of this is. Don’t get me wrong, it can get quite intense. But the good news is that SMBs don’t need enterprise-grade complexity. In my experience, most SMBs benefit from a solid foundation of these key controls:
These steps support the Zero Trust principle of “least privilege”: employees can only access what they need to – nothing more. They are also simple to deploy and cover about 90% of the risks businesses face.
When it comes to implementing any new solution, one of the things people worry about most is how difficult it is to deploy. When it comes to MDM, deployment is pretty straightforward — especially when you’ve got someone guiding you. With the right MDM in place – like SOTI Mobile Control – you can automatically set up templates that configure new devices. You can define exactly what that phone should look like: what apps are allowed, what can be accessed, and what’s restricted. Moreover, we, AT Babble, can further automate this process with deployment programs like Apple Business Manager and Android Zero Touch, so your devices can be ordered and shipped with MDM firmly in place.
Let’s say you’ve hired someone new or replaced a lost device. The company-owned device goes out in the post, and it’s literally plug-and-play. Once they receive the device, all they have to do is enter their passcode, and they’re ready to crack on. No fiddling around with the IT setup or complicated onboarding sessions required. If they lose their device, we can clone the setup, and they're back up and running in minutes. That’s the kind of business continuity you can expect when working with a trusted MSP.
If you’re feeling unsure about where to start with Zero Trust or worried BYOD is too risky, remember this: with MDM in place, you’re already taking the most practical step toward protecting all the entry points into your business.
We get it: your people are using personal devices, but you can’t afford to leave your data exposed. But at the end of the day, you just want to know your business is protected and your team can get on with their jobs.
I work with SMBs across the UK every day who are asking the same questions you are. My job here at Babble is to cut through the noise, help you see your options clearly, and recommend the tools that work for your business. No hard sell or complicated pitches. Just straightforward, effective solutions.
Here’s what you can do right now:
If you’re still not sure, reach out to us and we’ll walk you through it, help you get clarity, and make sure you’re not flying blind when it comes to mobile security.
Zero Trust gives you the peace of mind you need to focus on growing your business. And with the right MDM setup, it’s 100% achievable — even on a small business budget.