Communications lifestyle management and mobile device management (MDM) specialist Tangoe announced integrated versions of its Mobile MDM and Real-Time Telecom Expense Management (Tangoe rTEM) solutions.
The application, Tangoe Mobile, offers combined MDM and rTEM functionality, enhanced geo-fence policy enforcement capabilities, and a carrier plan optimization tool that identifies cost-effective carrier plan options. Mobile combines the company’s previous MDM and the rTEM client applications into a single, on-device application. The unified MDM/rTEM interface will be available for download through the Apple App Store for iOS and through Google Play for Android, in early July, the company said.
Using Tangoe Mobile, users can manage applications, track usage compared to carrier plans, and receive usage notifications from IT. Tangoe Mobile also enables multiple geo-fence policies on each device, which are tied to location-based usage rules, allowing automatic policy enforcement based on real-time device location tracking and is aimed at organizations in the health care, financial services and government sectors, where geo-based security is an important element of mobile device security.
In addition to the integrated on-device application, the latest versions of Tangoe MDM and rTEM include new capabilities that support the management of mobile devices. The rTEM platform includes carrier plan optimization, which is based on historical usage for voice, SMS and data. From this history, rTEM recommends to the administrator the best carrier plan for each user, which can be beneficial for enterprises in locations where there are no pooled plans or for organizations in the United States that are not participating in pooled plans. Meanwhile, application-specific data tracking provides visibility into the specific data usage of each application on a device.
“Many of Tangoe’s global enterprise customers are focused on growth via mobility in 2013, and they require real-time contextual awareness that optimizes mobile usage and protects their IP throughout the entire lifecycle of mobile devices and their applications,” Al Subbloie, president, CEO and founder of Tangoe, said in a statement. “The combined functionality of our market-leading MDM and rTEM solutions address these issues and provides our enterprise customers with increased control over mobile devices entering the enterprise as well as real-time visibility into employee usage.”
The company’s MDM platform also includes updated capabilities, which include integration with Samsung SAFE (Samsung Approved for Enterprise) to provide enterprise-grade device management and security on Samsung devices. The SAFE initiative facilitates the use of private Android devices by professional employees, which Samsung launched last year as more organizations adopt bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies.
The latest version of the MDM platform also supports a more complete Windows Phone 8 user experience with a Windows Phone 8 optimized user interface, support for more display resolutions, and a streamlined device activation process. In addition, the platform now supports BlackBerry 10 devices, device services and PlayBook, including integrated and secure sync for policy enforcement.
Despite a shift toward greater support for BYOD programs, only 37 percent of small and midsize businesses (SMBs) are managing or plan to manage mobile devices using a MDM offering, according to a May survey of 991 SMB IT professionals conducted by Spiceworks and sponsored by mobility management solutions specialist Fiberlink.