A high-quality customer experience is paramount for a retailer to maintain its reputation and loyalty among shoppers. Staff must swiftly address customer inquiries, too, both in person and online, with minimum disruption. For many years, UK high-street fashion retailer River Island had been using the Zebra MC14 scanning device to check stock and answer customer queries across its 300-plus nationwide stores.

But this device was nearing obsolescence, given it was powered by an older version of Android that was slow and unreliable, River Island’s director for technology, Paul Cooper, tells ITPro. Devices were often shared between staff members, and different tasks required several pieces of equipment – not just one – such as walkie-talkies to communicate between colleagues across the shop floor.

Beleaguered with legacy hardware, River Island sought to unify its shop floor technologies across its hundreds of stores into a single handheld device – meaning upgrading thousands of employee devices at once.

Shifting from legacy to modern technology

The digital transformation journey started during the COVID-19 pandemic. River Island’s workforce needed a way to communicate while working remotely during the lockdowns, so the business settled on Microsoft Teams. The reliance on Teams continued after restrictions were lifted as it proved to be an effective communication platform.

Next came modernizing its legacy hardware. River Island trialed a variety of handheld devices in certain stores, before reviewing how each device performed. Area managers worked with the central business to choose which outlets had the bandwidth capacity for the investigation.

The Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro soon emerged as ideal for River Island’s needs. “The XCover Pro was a massive shift for us; going from an expensive enterprise device to basically a ‘prosumer’ device,” explains Cooper.

“It's a ruggedized phone, but there were multiple benefits. It’s very intuitive, as it's the same as any Android device. It’s also lightweight and worked extremely well with all of the mobile device management technologies that we use.”

Unlike the Zebra MC14, however, the XCover Pro didn’t have a barcode reader, which is essential in retail. Cooper overcame this challenge by collaborating with a smart data capture software provider, Scandit, to install a barcode reader on the XCover using the device’s camera. This could then interface with River Island’s product database. The software, however, did have walkie-talkie functionality, meaning retail assistants were able to use one fewer piece of hardware while on shift.

Using the XCover Pro also meant each member of approximately 5,000 River Island staff could have their own device for a shift, enabling smoother communication in-store, as well as with those in head office. 

“As part of our move to Samsung devices, we were able to give every single person who's on shift a device,” says Cooper. “They could all have a device and be in contact. This was a key driver for us – to make sure that we had identity correct on the devices.”

One of Cooper’s main goals was for the devices to be as easy to use as possible. Given Android’s ubiquitous nature, most members of staff were already familiar with the operating system. The apps have been designed to be intuitive and transparent, too, so new starters only need a brief induction.

Triggering a back-end network upgrade

Having a much greater number of handheld devices operating across the River Island ecosystem demanded a major network upgrade as part of the wider project. The business upgraded from MPLS-WAN to SD-WAN, in a major modernization of the UK clothing retailer’s network infrastructure.

The devices were first deployed at just a few stores to confirm they would integrate with River Island’s network, before they were rolled out to the remaining sites across the UK, in a repeat of the onboarding process.

Although Cooper says the deployment was ultimately successful, he believes with hindsight they shouldn’t have been as aggressive with the rollout, given the scale of the challenge.

“Our approach has always been to get the most value as quick as you can, and then do the iterative changes,” he explains. “With more than 250 stores and across multiple regions of the UK, that's quite an ask. 

"We should have pulled it back a tiny bit to allow the rollout to be smoother.”

Over the course of the project, River Island unified functionality into one device for each employee while simplifying processes and streamlining communications. It's reduced frustration among staff and boosted morale while improving the customer experience – since staff can quickly and accurately resolve queries.

The retailer plans to build on this momentum by deploying a self-checkout system across stores in its next major project. The system is already being tested at one location, with more sites preparing to trial the technology soon.

Even though most of us haven’t been able to take our personal hardware anywhere over the last year, it hasn’t stopped many of us from purchasing new devices like Chromebooks, smartphones and laptops. Chromebook sales have been “through the roof”, according to Canalys research, as organisations have looked for cheap solutions in order to provide equipment to remote workers.

Once we know where we’ll be working and the so-called "new normal" is fully implemented, these new devices might come with us to work through a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) scheme. In the years leading up to the pandemic, it was a growing trend where employees were encouraged to use their personal devices in the workplace.

Part of the BYOD’s popularity is down to the consumerisation of IT with smartphones, laptops, and tablets appealing strongly with the general public. Many people choose the fastest laptop or latest model of smartphone and generally use them to check emails or talk to co-workers and employers.

Moreover, this has coincided with a sharp rise in the use of apps and SaaS tools, many of which can be easily downloaded and installed on personal devices. The line between work and our personal lives is often blurred when apps like Google Workspace, Slack and Microsoft Office are installed on a personal smartphone or device, even when they may already be on a laptop provided by an employer.

The benefits of BYOD

The most significant benefits of BYOD include lower IT costs and increased productivity.

Employees who can select their own device for work, whether it’s a computer, tablet or smartphone, can be more productive as they are more motivated.

IT departments don't need to stump up the cash for new equipment or software licenses and employees are more likely to look after their equipment if it's their personal device too, so maintenance and repair costs will be lower.

Additionally, technology chosen by employees is likely to be more up to date than IT departments can offer everyone, which means they'll often feature faster processors, more advanced security such as fingerprint readers and can be used alongside the latest iterations of apps and software to ensure workers have the resources they need at all times.

In 2020, BYOD will have proven a boon to companies that have had to adopt mass remote working. While adoption of laptops has increased in recent years, not every employee in every organisation is equipped with one. When lockdown began, it may have taken time to kit workers out with suitable devices – assuming the organisation had the resources to do so. BYOD will have served as a great stopgap in some cases – in others, it will have become a new normal that has allowed businesses to continue operating with relative continuity over the long term.

The challenges of BYOD

What is probably the main challenge of a BYOD policy is the lack of homogeneity across staff devices. This means that IT departments might struggle with managing enterprise hardware, as some applications required to ensure the security and smooth operations of the business may not be compatible with different versions of operating systems. For example, some employees may prefer macOS over Windows, while others will opt for Android instead of iOS, making their unification more difficult than if everyone was provided with the exact same device and model.

This might also lead to increased IT support expenses, as instead of using one type of resource for all enterprise hardware, the IT department will be forced to source it from a few different providers. A good way to try to minimise this, according to GCHQ, is to provide employees with some limitations on the choice of hardware, such as a list of free or subsidised devices which they will be able to choose from.

Another significant challenge of a BYOD policy is maintaining the business’ cyber security posture. Unfortunately, this means that IT departments should be on the lookout for potential threats as well as gaps in the company’s MDM (mobile device management) policies. In order to ensure that device freedom doesn’t result in a company data breach, staff should be made aware of the top BYOD risks, as well as educated on best security practices.

One nightmare scenario could involve an employee bringing in a virus-ridden device into the office and connecting it to the company’s network, potentially infecting other devices with malware.

BYOD is a security trade-off that must be weighed up and can put an extra burden on the IT department, which in turn could reduce productivity gains experienced by employees from other departments.

Key considerations before implementing a BYOD policy

Before you make the jump to BYOD, it's important whenever possible to ensure you have the policies in place before you invite employees to start introducing their personal devices into the corporate environment.

These include:

• Having a list of devices your employees can and can't use. Although you should be as open as possible, do not permit devices with a poor security record. This may involve only permitting devices made by specific manufacturers or operating systems.
• Enforce a stringent security policy for all devices, whether that's only permitting certain passwords (they must include a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, at least one number and a symbol for example).
• Invest in staff training so employees are aware of the risks if their device falls into the wrong hands.
• Register each and every device that is being used for work, whether that's a smartphone, outside tablet, laptop, or even smartwatch.
• Ensure your network can be locked down sufficiently to resist attacks and your infrastructure has the capacity to run BYOD.
• Define which applications are allowed to be installed on devices and which aren't, or at least which can be run on your corporate network.

Mobile device management (MDM) is one of the most important business tools used by UK organisations. This is a system that helps IT administrators to secure and control tablets, smartphones, and computers used by employees in an organisation.

Thanks to new and modern initiatives like hot-desking and bring your own device (BYOD), and obviously the recent surge in remote working, MDM has become more and more popular in recent years. In particular, COVID-19 has led to a surge in the demand of this tool among businesses looking to take on MDM solutions. As the world of work is currently transforming into a hybrid model, it is probable this demand will continue or even grow, with UK businesses aiming to ensure endpoints distributed across their networks stay secure.

It is crucial for GDPR compliance to ensure your employees can only access the data they need, and that they are restricted from accessing other information. After all, organisations will be aiming to remain as compliant as possible to reduce the chance of getting a fine. Two ways that MDM systems can help businesses on their compliance journeys is by locking data if a device goes missing, or restricting data access for employees.

In addition to smartphones, MDM systems can manage laptops, tablets, and desktop PCs. This makes them extremely useful as they can manage cyber security risks across all workplace devices. For example, malware can be downloaded inadvertently in various ways, like through phishing attacks, and infects a number of devices regardless of their form. The best MDM systems out there will manage various devices at once, wiping or treating those infected with malware before the infection has time to spread.

Whatever your needs are from an MDM solution, there are many options available from a variety of providers. Here's a round-up of some of the best options, including offerings from IBM, Citrix and more.

Cisco Meraki

Perhaps one of the most well-known MDM platforms, Cisco Meraki allows you to manage every type of device in your business from one dashboard. No matter what you need to monitor - be it Android and iOS smartphones, or Linux, macOS and Windows PCs - you can do so. There's also an app for managing devices while not at your computer, monitoring usage and making sure all data is safe and sound.

Cisco Meraki offers a bumper feature set, enabling you to enforce device security policies, deploy software and apps, and perform remote troubleshooting if any problems arise, monitoring calls and more on the devices across your network. Every device managed and monitored is regarded as a separate device, even if they're linked. This means you can, for example, allow certain apps to run on an employee's iPad but not on their linked smartphone.

Cisco Meraki enables all of this to happen over the network, so even if you're trying to manage remote employee devices, it's a breeze. You can keep tabs on everything without anyone needing to be on the same network. It’s also easy to test-drive the platform with a browser-based demo with slated network devices and users. Plus, you can request trial hardware and get technical support to help with setup.

Pricing: Available upon request

IBM MaaS360

IBM entered the MDM market following its acquisition of Fiberlink Communications back in 2013. Since then, Big Blue has been making some big improvements to its flagship MDM product. The service, which is powered by Watson AI, will easily integrate with existing IT infrastructure, enabling you to manage a diverse, complex endpoint and mobile environment.

IBM Maas360 also puts security at the forefront, securing and containing data accessed by users and keeping corporate apps and content separated while allowing for easy removal and access revocation. Its integrated threat defence also proactively shields corporate data.

IBM might not be the cheapest out there - especially since some of the services that you'd find bundled with other providers come at an additional cost - but with IBM's lengthy experience in enterprise security, you know you're getting a good quality solution for your money.

Pricing: From $4.00 (£3.32) per client device per month

Hexnode MDM

Hexnode MDM lets you provision and manage devices, and prides itself on a user-friendly design. Users can add their own devices by connecting to the network or by using a portal installed on your company's website or intranet. Their device will then be added using their Active Directory credentials.

Once the devices are added, you can manage them whether they're connected to the corporate network or being used remotely. That means you can push configuration settings to the device, restrict functionality, manage mobile applications (including blocking App Store downloads and implementing a black/whitelist), check and enforce compliance and even remotely lock and wipe devices.

Hexnode MDM also offers a 30-day free trial if you want to get give it a test run.

Pricing: From $1.08 (90p) per device/month

Soti MobiControl

Soti allows you to manage Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, and Windows devices from one place, for the entire lifecycle of the device within the organisation. They can be provisioned when first added to the company's fleet of devices, managed throughout their service and then wiped when it comes to retirement.

The platform was designed for use with ruggedised devices often used by fieldworkers and the healthcare, logistics, retail, and transport sectors.

The MDM platform can be installed on-premise or deployed on Soti's cloud. You can add devices to the platform using its Express Enrollment feature, which automatically delivers the settings, apps, and files a user needs over the air to get them up and running.

Pricing: Available on request

Citrix Secure Private Access

Citrix Secure Private Access, formerly known as Citrix Endpoint Management, is a zero trust network access tool with MDM functions. It allows the containerisation of business apps and personal apps, making it best suited to BYOD workplaces. Every device, including desktop PCs, smartphones and tablets, can be managed from one centralised console and devices don't even need to be enrolled to benefit from MAM, too.

As well as allowing the device owner to use a device provisioned and managed by the organisation, Citrix Secure Private Access has also been designed to let multiple users have access to one mobile device. This is particularly useful for industries such as healthcare, where field workers and emergency service workers may need shared ownership of one device.

However, it's likely one device will need applications and service provisioned with different access rights and this can be set up simply with Secure Private Access's MAM capabilities. IT managers can also lock down the device depending on the network location, stopping staff from using certain features outside of the corporate network.

Pricing: From $3 (£2.52) per device/month

VMware Workspace ONE

VMware Workspace ONE (formerly called Airwatch prior to its VMware acquisition) offers endpoint protection for all devices, regardless of the operating system, with full device management, whether it's a BYOD or shared corporate device.

You are able to deploy and manage any app via the platform's app catalogue, whether employees are trying to access them natively, on-device, via the web or remotely. The layered security across the individual user, endpoint, data, and network can all be centrally managed using the same mobility platform too.

Workspace ONE uses automation to carry out many everyday MDM tasks, which reduces the strain on IT staff. You don't have to manually provision or enrol devices - this happens without the need for any manpower, making it a perfect option for resource-stretched businesses.

Pricing: From $1.66 (£1.39) per device/month

The future of mobile device management

With life now beginning to return to offices across the world, it’s never been more important to ensure your organisation’s workers have great security. It’s likely that this will keep being seen by IT departments as one of their biggest challenges too.

Part of this is because of how popular hybrid working has become in recent times. There have been a number of attempts to make this the mainstream, including by the likes of Salesforce, which decided in February 2021 to offer employees the choice of three models for working. These were office-based in San Francisco, flex, or fully remote. This is a big step considering that approximately 18% of employees at the company were fully remote before the pandemic, compared to 50% by June 2021.

Some companies have gone an extra step, such as Airbnb, which told employees in April 2022 they can work from “anywhere”, regardless of the country they live in. The company’s new remote work policies stated that employees could also enjoy up to 90 days of work abroad.

Despite these benefits, combining in-office working with remote might be problematic when it comes to security. This is because the lines between what constitutes a home or work device inevitably blur, even if the organisation provided the employee with dedicated hardware. Importantly, it also involves workers regularly accessing their private networks at home, with the risk of falling victim to a wider variety of threats, and even transferring malicious software over to an organisation’s network when they work from the office. Companies not only have to think about adopting a clear BYOD policy, but also be extra vigilant when it comes to the security of their network.

With more employees making their way back to company property, even in a hybrid work model, MDM solutions are going to have a big role to play not only when it comes to security, but in GDPR compliance too. Bear in mind, however, this can come at a high cost. Decide which MDM option would be best for your business before investing anything. It’s also best to think about the scalability and price of the software, how good its security is, and how many devices or employees it’s able to support. Obviously, there are other things you’ll need to bear in mind before buying your ideal MDM solution, but this is a good place to start.

Of course, it would also be helpful to devise the appropriate MDM business plan on whether you are likely to see an ROI. However, security should be of paramount importance to any business. Failing to protect data can be catastrophic for a business, so there's no excuse not to take every measure to make sure your business stays afloat.