Airwatch (or any iPad MDM)- anyone here use or heard of it?

stacksofplates

@johnhooks said:

@Dashrender said:

They use the MDM to lock down/out the appstore, prevent internet access from the device, and track unit location.

They can also use it to disable the device in case of theft (most likely, employee theft).

It uses a 3G/4G data plan, and to keep the company from having huge data plans, they prevent the use of internet over their plan.

Ya I get the use for that, but just seemed like a lot to push a file.

I've seen people say this is free but I've never used it or seen if it works well

https://meraki.cisco.com/products/systems-manager

If they were only pushing a file I agree, but they really do need to lock the devices down so the end users aren't using it inappropriately.

I'll take a look at the Meraki option.
Thanks

I just signed up for a demo with the Manage Engine MDM. It's free for up to 25 devices and 1 technician.

https://www.manageengine.com/mobile-device-management/pricing.html

Dashrender

Thanks - currently I'm not being paid to look into this. So now I'll need to remember these if they decide to hire me.

aaron-closed account

This post is deleted!

Dashrender

@aaron said:

I've always considered MDM to be more of deployment of app/settings to the system. Not files. That seems odd to me.

Using these like mobile terminals for factory or field workers - the need/desire to send pricing guides, build specs, etc seems highly desirable. You definitely don't want to require that access to the internet be required each time you want to look at this information.

Carnival Boy

I use Meraki. It's pretty basic. I'm happy with it for free but I doubt it will solve your problem. I think a lot of issues are at Apple's end and how restrictive they make their OS, as a lot of these MDM solutions appear to work much better on Android devices.

Deleted74295

@Dashrender said:

You definitely don't want to require that access to the internet be required each time you want to look at this information.

Does dropox for biz or one drive for biz have an ipad app that allows downloading locally?

Dashrender

@Breffni-Potter said:

@Dashrender said:

You definitely don't want to require that access to the internet be required each time you want to look at this information.

Does dropox for biz or one drive for biz have an ipad app that allows downloading locally?

They have a sync client - but I have no idea if you can force those apps to download upon publishing a document there.

Deleted74295

Personally, is it not up to the field engineers to DL the material they need before heading to site?

"Oh sorry customer, the files I need are not with me"
"Well why? Whose fault is that"
"Our IT Department"

Dashrender

These are plumbers. They don't visit the shop daily. They work out of their trucks and get their assignments electronically.

So no, they wouldn't necessarily have the ability to download something while at the office.

Deleted74295

Can they not download at home before heading out for the day?

Dashrender

Why the push to put the onus on the end user to do a task as simple as syncing/pushing a file to remote device?

This places a burden on them unnecessarily that would allow them to fail. We can or at least should be able to do something as simple as push a file to a remote device with little effort.

@Breffni-Potter said:

Can they not download at home before heading out for the day?

Let's assume for the moment that they can't connect to the WiFi at home, primarily because there is no reason for them to since they aren't allowed access to Safari or the app store, so there is no reason for them to be on any WiFi. The same would go for plugging it into their computer at home.

Don't think of this as an iPad, think of it as dedicated black box with a screen that's only function is to provide the function the company wants.

scottalanmiller

@Dashrender said:

Don't think of this as an iPad, think of it as dedicated black box with a screen that's only function is to provide the function the company wants.

Seems like a custom app would be best for that, then.

Dashrender

@scottalanmiller said:

@Dashrender said:

Don't think of this as an iPad, think of it as dedicated black box with a screen that's only function is to provide the function the company wants.

Seems like a custom app would be best for that, then.

maybe so, but that would be much more expensive than just shipping out a PDF every month.

Dashrender

Currently they write their invoices up on paper based on information in the iPad. They could definitely use an app on the iPad instead that they put everything in, then a printer in the truck to print an invoice.

scottalanmiller

@Dashrender said:

@scottalanmiller said:

@Dashrender said:

Don't think of this as an iPad, think of it as dedicated black box with a screen that's only function is to provide the function the company wants.

Seems like a custom app would be best for that, then.

maybe so, but that would be much more expensive than just shipping out a PDF every month.

Depends, making an app isn't necessarily that much work for something really simple.

Deleted74295

If they don't have wifi at home and they are not at the office routinely. How do they get updated files during the week? I'm really confused by how they can use these. Am I missing something obvious?

scottalanmiller

Maybe a description of how it is IS used, rather than a filter on how it is NOT used, would clarify things.

Deleted74295

@Dashrender said:

The most notable recent problem was they were trying to push out a PDF price sheet to all devices, only two of them picked up the price sheet.

If the engineers can't get on wifi, what MDM will actually fix this for them?

Dashrender

I was pretty sure I mentioned that the device are all on 3G/4G, but it was in a post, not the OP.

OK how the device is used/desired to be used.

The device is connected to the internet solely through 3G/4G wireless service. The users (plumbers) are to access dedicated apps and assigned PDFs to get pricing information while in the field. The pricing index can be updated anytime remotely by management.

I don't know much more at this time.

Deleted74295

@Dashrender said:

The device is connected to the internet solely through 3G/4G wireless service. The users (plumbers) are to access dedicated apps and assigned PDFs to get pricing information while in the field. The pricing index can be updated anytime remotely by management.

So back to my original question. I've just tested this with onedrive for biz and it works.

You can download these files to be available offline, so as part of their job, why can't the plumbers download the files when they have signal and the onus is on them to check that they have the right company information to hand before going on site.