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When I speak to UK business owners and IT managers about Mobile Device Management (MDM), the first thing I hear is: “It’s too expensive.” And I get it. Budgets are tight, licences look like just another line on the spreadsheet, and every Pound counts.
But here’s what many don’t realise: the real cost of MDM isn’t just the licence fee. Over the years, I’ve seen businesses waste days of IT time manually configuring devices, pay for licences on phones gathering dust in drawers, and even risk multi-million-pound deals because a device was locked at the wrong moment. The truth is, MDM often saves far more money and risk than it ever costs.
In this article, I’ll break down the costs – both visible and hidden – along with the costs you can avoid with MDM. By the end, you’ll see why the right solution doesn’t just protect your devices, it protects your business.
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What This Blog Covers:
- The Biggest Myth About MDM Costs
- The Risks (and Costs) MDM Removes
- Cutting Through the Hidden Costs of Device Management
- Calculating the Total Cost of Ownership
- MDM: Expense or Investment?
The Biggest Myth About MDM Costs
By far, the biggest misconception about Mobile Device Management (MDM) is that it’s expensive. This is because many businesses only look at the sticker price, and not the value behind the cost. I get it, if your organisation has a high headcount, £3–5 per user can be a bit pricey. But hear me out: when you factor in the time and money you save on automation, security, and compliance, it often ends up being more cost-effective than not having MDM at all.
Without MDM, your IT team spends hours manually setting up phones and tablets. On average, it takes 40 minutes to an hour per device — and that’s if you’re not creating Apple IDs or Google accounts. Anyone who’s set up a new personal phone knows how long it can take just to get the right apps downloaded and configured. Now imagine an IT manager sat in a room, doing that for 50 devices. That’s days of lost productivity, which in itself is a hidden cost that far outweighs the licence fee.
The Risks (and Costs) MDM Removes
Here’s where people often underestimate the value of MDM: the risks it removes. From a GDPR perspective, MDM on its own does not make you “compliant”. But it gives you the tools to get there by allowing you to secure both Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and corporate-owned devices. With MDM, you can apply the same security policies to mobiles that you do to laptops and tablets: encryption, remote wipe, and password resets. Without it, mobile devices often slip through the cracks because most businesses don’t treat them as IT assets that need the same protection as all the other endpoints that have access to the company’s data. Your mobiles become a blind spot — and that’s a big problem when regulators come knocking.
And it’s not just about security and compliance, but managing access to your data. I once worked with an organisation whose CEO (we’ll call him Tom) flew overseas for a massive bid worth millions. All the documents were on his tablet, and because they were so confidential, no one else had access to them. Understanding the importance of password hygiene, Tom changed his password a few weeks prior and forgot it. Biometrics were turned off for security reasons, which left Tom in quite a bind. Luckily, he had MDM in place, so IT was able to reset the password remotely in minutes. Without MDM, that device would’ve been a very expensive brick — and the deal would have been dead in the water. I think it’s safe to say that that one feature alone more than justified the investment.
That’s the kind of cost people forget to factor in. Sometimes, the difference between winning and losing a deal comes down to whether your devices are managed properly.
Cutting Through the Hidden Costs of Device Management
The businesses that understand the value of MDM and add it to their stack can sometimes fall into the trap of overspending. Here’s where hidden costs usually creep up:
- Licence sprawl: I’ve seen companies double their licensing bill simply because old devices weren’t unenrolled. They think they’re managing 100 devices, but the system shows 200. That’s money wasted every single month.
- Multiple devices per person: Tom (the CEO) might have a work phone, an iPad, and a personal device used for email. That’s three licences for one person. Unless you factor that in, costs can escalate quickly. But if you find that certain people in the business absolutely need multiple devices, then there is the option to opt for user-based licenses instead of device-based licenses.
- Without regular audits, licences get wasted on devices gathering dust in a drawer or have long since been wiped. Not keeping on top of your devices also creates security blind spots.
The good news is that automation can reduce these issues. With the right MDM policies, unused devices can be automatically unenrolled, keeping your licence count accurate and your costs under control.
Download my 5-Step Fix for Forgotten Company Phones guide here.
Calculating the Total Cost of Ownership
If you’re wondering how you should calculate the “real” cost of MDM, my advice is to flip the question. Instead of asking, “Can we afford MDM?” Ask, “Can we afford not to have it?”
Here are more questions to think about:
- What would a data breach cost you?
- How many hours do you spend each year configuring devices manually?
- How much lost productivity comes from employees locked out of their phones or waiting for replacements?
It’s like car insurance: you pay for it not because you plan to get into an accident, but because you know the cost of not having it could be devastating. MDM should be treated the same way. And when businesses take this approach, they usually see faster rollout times, a unified approach to device management, fewer devices sitting unused, and quicker IT support.
MDM: Expense or Investment?
Like any tech solution, MDM does come with a cost – but it’s one that often pays for itself. With the right housekeeping and approach, you can control spend while avoiding the far bigger risks of wasted IT hours, compliance fines, looming cyber threats, and lost opportunities.
The “real” cost isn’t the licence fee: it’s the drain of manual work, unmanaged devices, and the risk of being in some really hot water when something goes wrong.
I’ve seen firsthand how SMBs transform their device management when they look beyond the invoice and focus on the bigger picture. That’s why I wanted to share these insights with you — so you can make informed decisions and protect your business.
So, do the maths: Audit your devices, clean up your licensing, and weigh the risks you’re currently carrying. If you’d like support in calculating your total cost of ownership or tightening up your mobile strategy, I’d be glad to help – get in touch with me here.
