I’ve been working on trying to explain where mobile device management starts, and how companies use this service.  I figured this was a worthy blog topic, as it is something that until recently I got wrong.

First let me show this art picture I just made that will help clarify how I break down typical MDM/TEM

TEM stands for telecom expense management, this is the process in which you provision the phone.  This is when you set up data, voice, make a phone selection (Android/BlackBerry/IPhone etc:)  Now some companies can handle this entire process, you basically let them pay the bill for you, and they will handle the entire procurement for you.  But that is when MDM ( in the traditional sense) begins.  MDM manages the user experience when they have the phone.  It is responsible for helping the user set up e-mail, get applications, set up security policies and monitor the device.  The advantage to having someone to both TEM and MDM is they can manage the entire life-cycle.  Customers are going to want someone who can make the entire point to point solution, they don’t want to have to deal with TEM people, or MDM people, they want to deal with mobility people.  I think once we figure out that piece of the puzzle, one company who can truly do it both, they will own the entire market.  Although some companies do this now, they are not known enough for it, and they do not do it on a constant enough basis.