What are Single Purpose Devices? Why There is a Need to Manage Them?

by Sonali Datta on October 30, 2019

Our daily life is totally influenced by the mobile devices we use to communicate, collaborate and getting numerous jobs done at once. Although, mobile phones have completely changed the way we exist, there’s no denying that checking our phones 150 times a day on an average is a little insane. The fact is, human beings are addicted to their mobile phones, to the extent that it hugely impacts their daily productivity and level of concentration at work. This distraction caused by our multi-purpose and always-connected mobile phones dramatically limit our ability to think, be creative and focus, and a recent study also shows that it lowers our IQ. So, yes, there is a need for single-purpose or dedicated devices, especially at work when we cannot jeopardize our professional purpose for the distractions brought by multi-use mobile phones.

What are Single Purpose Devices and why are they important?

In the mid of all the advancements introduced by digital and mobile technologies, we cannot ignore the fact that businesses need to follow a consistent and specific path of operation. Hence, single purpose devices (or dedicated devices in Android’s term) have proven to be a game-changer. From the industry viewpoint, these devices are particularly built and designed (including the software and the hardware) with certain specific features and functionalities to meet specific business purposes and usage requirements. Single purpose or dedicated devices are highly significant for to drive a particular program or algorithm for a specific business task(s) with measurable results.

Also Read: All About Single Purpose Device Management

Some of the commonest examples of single purpose devices are electric drill or crane, heart-rate monitoring device, Amazon Kindle and so on. However, the definition of single-purpose devices has been slightly changed with the advent of computing technologies. Today, with the help of Mobile Device Management, mobile devices and computers can be transformed into single-use devices by locking these devices into single or multi-app kiosk modes, which allows these devices to perform a particular set of business operations. Single purpose devices can be either customer-facing or employee-facing, and they are extensively used by multiple industries including supply chain and logistics, manufacturing, transportation, hospitality, healthcare, mining, retail, oil and gas, construction and education.

Some examples of single purpose devices are:

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Shared employee devices at back-office
Customer facing kiosks
Web kiosk browsers at Airports
Way-finding kiosks at public places
Ticket booking kiosks
Rugged devices used in harsh working conditions
Digital signages at storefronts
Data capture handheld devices at warehouse
Android tablets used by sales associates
Mobile POS used by last mile delivery guys

Why there is a need to manage your single purpose devices?

When it comes to using single purpose devices by companies the best way to maximize the usage is to configure them for business purposes through a mobile device management solution. Single purpose dedicated devices are supposed to be fully-managed by the company IT admin and hence the role of an MDM platform becomes inevitable. So, following are the reasons why your IT admin needs to manage the company-owned single purpose devices leveraging a powerful MDM software.

Ensure security of corporate data stored in the devices: When single purpose devices are managed and enrolled using an MDM tool, it empowers the IT admin to enforce security policies and regulations remotely across all the devices, which protect the corporate data stored within these devices from being compromised in cases of unattended devices, device loss or theft. The IT admin can also secure the company network by enforcing Wi-Fi policies. IT admin can also remotely reboot the devices, lock the devices and wipe device data in case it is required.
Track the location and whereabouts of the devices: It is imperative for the company IT admins to manage single purpose devices remotely and in real time. Here, using an MDM platform offers multiple relevant functionalities that enable the IT admin to track the device locations in real time, set single or multiple geo-fence, monitor device health and status, and to get notified about any compliance and security violation issues. MDM managed single purpose devices are always under surveillance by the IT admin that double-check all the data and device security concerns.

Also Read: The varied device management modes in single purpose devices

Ensure that the devices are being judiciously used: Single purpose or dedicated devices are meant to meet and accomplish specific business purposes and requirements within stipulated time frame. Using an MDM solution to manage these devices allows the IT admin to lock these devices into single or multi-app mode, which in turn will ensure that the devices are used at their best without any chances of tampering with the hardware buttons or settings. IT admin can also publish the required enterprise apps to help employees use these devices reasonably and productively.
Reduce device downtime and overhead costs: When single purpose devices are managed by the company IT team with the help of a powerful MDM solution it empowers the IT admin to leverage the unique MDM features like remote troubleshooting, which tremendously reduce device downtime, maintain user productivity and kiosk enabled devices signify that the devices cannot be used to browse the internet or use personal apps through internet connection. This undoubtedly minimize overhead costs due to unprecedented internet and application usage.
Enhance employee productivity and customer experience: When enrolled in an MDM solution, single purpose devices can be preloaded with necessary enterprise apps and company content, which enable the employees to access important information and company data in real time to drive effective decision-making, issue resolution, operational efficiency and inventory management. Also, MDM supports bulk and over-the-air enrollment of single purpose devices, which allow the employees to start after unboxing them. Managed single purpose devices ensure employee productivity, enhance customer experience and fasten time-to-market with obvious results.

Relying on a powerful and scalable mobile device management solution is the ideal thing to do if you are looking to manage, monitor, secure and update your company-owned single purpose devices. Scalefusion MDM is the perfect solution that offers the core benefits as well as additional value with its set of unique features.

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