Portland Business Blackmailed!
Why Businesses Issuing Mobile Devices to Employees Need MDM
Jim’s leaving.
He returns the company car, gives back his corporate credit card, and everything seems a-okay. There aren’t new purchases for a new boat, or other parting gifts Jim decided to give himself…
But his phone and iPad? “F-you”, he says. “I’m not giving those back. I bought them with my own money!”
That’s interesting… Because you’re pretty sure you remember seeing an expense report come across your desk for an $850 iPhone and $650 iPad.
Sure enough, you check it out and that’s exactly what happened. That’s your $1500…
You try to show Jim that he’s basically trying to steal from you, and he replies “Ok, fine. You can have them. But I’m not unlocking anything.”
Great…
You just lost $1500 bucks. Because unless you have Jim’s Apple ID and password, your phone and iPad may as well be bricks.
Credit: Apple
And it keeps getting better… Now Jim wants you to pay him to unlock your devices, or you’ll never recover your data.
Yep. You’re being blackmailed, and there’s nothing you can do about it.
Sure, you could try the courts. But even it works out, do you have the time to deal with that? Most business leaders don’t.
So they’ll accept the $1500 loss, and call it a “toxic-purge” tax.
A small price to pay for sweet, sweet freedom.
If you’re lucky, the Jim in your organization won’t bring sensitive IP into this mess… If you’re lucky, he won’t share your customer list with the competition, harass your clients, or pull some other monkey-business.
But don’t count on it.
Even Small Businesses Need Mobile Device Management
People like Jim are why every business—large or small—should have a Mobile Device Management (MDM) plan.
It’s a common sense program you can use to manage your devices remotely. So when Jim doesn’t want to unlock his phone? You can lock him out completely with one button. Protecting your data, and preventing your devices from becoming expensive trash.
Supported by an MDM, you can:
- Setup your new devices automatically — without ever laying a hand on them.
- Automatically update all your devices at the same time.
- Remotely lock, or unlock devices.
- Protect yourself from hackers. (43% of cyber-attacks target small business – Small Business Trends.)
- Remotely wipe devices.
- And you’ll need an MDM eventually anyway — if you plan to grow your business.
Once you’ve got an MDM, your assets are safe. And Jim can kick rocks.
You can even setup profiles for each division in your company, so you can automatically update or setup sales devices with the apps and settings sales needs. And do the same for operations, or any other division.
The MDM Recommended by Apple
Anyway, my business had a “Jim.”
And we had a great relationship, so I never would have guessed how things would turn out. After my blackmail fiasco I said “enough is enough” and called Apple. They let me onto MDMs, and recommended one called JAMF.
I was foaming at the mouth and ready to pony up some dough to test it out — but it turns out JAMF is free (up to 3 devices). Each additional device is $3 bucks a month. That’s a small price to pay to save you from massive headaches, and even protect you from blackmail.
Now, I’m not associated with JAMF, and I don’t care which MDM you end up using. But you should use one. Because once you know it’s an option, MDM is a common sense protection.
The Extra Danger to Small Businesses
Let’s imagine you’re never going to have issues with exiting employees.
An MDM will still save you hours spent managing your devices. Which saves you money, and spares you frustration. And it’ll protect you from one last — seemingly unlikely — threat.
Hackers want your sensitive data. Especially if you’re a small business.
It’s because hackers know small businesses don’t have the time or resources for cybersecurity that larger organizations do.
Realistically, you’re not at much risk for hackers — unless — you don’t regularly update your devices…
And you can trust your employees to always update all their apps right away, right…?
It won’t matter. Because with an MDM, you can secure all your devices at the same time with one button. Remote updating is a pretty handy feature.
Mobile Device Management is a No-Brainer
You should trust your employees.
But you should also protect your business. Because you never know when you might run into a “Jim,” and you don’t need those problems.
Save your money. Save yourself from headaches. And save your time…
Setup an MDM for your business—you’ll thank yourself later. It’ll give you an incredible amount of control over all your company devices—100% remotely.
Authors Note: If you found this blog helpful or interesting, you won’t want to miss the other free content we make for Portland businesses. Just “Like” us on Facebook (or like/comment/share the ad that brought you here) and I’ll make sure you won’t miss a thing.
Thanks for reading! – Brian Engelhard
