What is ANDROID ENTERPRISE?

Android Enterprise is Google’s operating system framework for supporting Android devices for enterprise use. It enables devices to have separate private and work profiles on the same device, and allows administrators to have broader control over both enterprise owned and and BYIOD provisioned devices. SOTI MobiControl MDM supports Android Enterprise to maximize security and business productivity.

Android understands the challenges that businesses face when deploying and managing devices.

As a business adopts more devices, management could become more complicated. Often, IT administrators arduously have to manually configure each device, which is difficult to scale. Manual set-up of each individual device is very time-consuming for large scale deployments, especially with a limited IT staff. Businesses must ensure that employees have timely access to the tools they need, while protecting company and employee data. Android Enterprise brings seamless management of the entire fleet. Android Enterprise (AE) is a platform for mobile device management that launched with Android Lollipop in 2014.

Initially called “Android for Work," Android Enterprise was designed to provide a secure and separate profile for work-related data and applications on employees’ personal devices. Android Enterprise isn’t Android management in and of itself, it’s a set of APIs that require a modern MDM/EMM such as SOTI MobiControl in order to properly manage them. Android Enterprise streamlines deployments and provides the following benefits:

• Security, including protection of company, employee, and customer data.
• Ease of device deployment and management.
• Rapid app distribution and management.
• Asset management, such as device inventory.

As of 2022, Android Enterprise offers two main categories of management: personally owned and company owned. These can be further broken down into work profiles for personally owned BYOD (bring your own device), work profiles on company-owned devices (COPE), or fully managed, company-owned, business only (COBO) devices including the option of kiosk mode.

Fully Managed vs. BYOD Devices

With a work profile, a separate user profile is created on an employee’s personal device, which keeps work and personal data isolated and separately encrypted. This gives the employee full control over their private data and also gives your IT department full control over company information. This is particularly useful for personal-use scenarios such as BYOD (Bring your own Device). Company owned devices can be configured to give admins full control. Fully managed devices allow organizations complete control over the device and all data on it.

Android Enterprise Features Overview

Android Enterprise is Google’s program for supporting Android devices for enterprise. Android Enterprise enables devices to have separate private and work profile deployments, and enables administrators to have broader control over enterprise owned and provisioned devices. SOTI MobiControl MDM supports Android Enterprise to maximize security and business productivity.

Work Profiles

Create separate work profiles on employee BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) devices. These work profiles keep work and personal data separate while allowing employees to use a single device for both work and personal purposes. IT administrators can manage and secure the work profile without affecting the user's personal data.

Device Management

In combination with a Mobile Device Management (MDM), Android Enterprise allows organizations to control and configure devices remotely. This includes enforcing security policies, installing or removing apps, and performing other administrative tasks to ensure the devices are secure and compliant with company policies.

Corporate Google Play Store

Enable your organization to manage the apps on corporate devices through a managed version of the Google Play Store. Administrators can create a list of approved apps and distribute them to devices via the Google Play Store, ensuring that employees have access to only the necessary business applications.

Zero-touch Enrollment

Utilize Zero-Touch enrollment for provisioning new devices for employees out-of-the-box. When a new Android device is turned on, it can automatically be set up with the necessary configurations and apps, making it easier for IT departments to deploy and manage devices at scale.

Security Features

Incorporate security features such as hardware-based encryption, biometric authentication, and regular security updates to protect the data and devices. IT administrators can also enforce security policies and remotely wipe devices if they are lost or stolen.

MDM | EMM Integration

Use Android Enterprise in combination with Mobile Device Management (MDM)/Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) solutions from third-party vendors such as SOTI MobiControl to provide advanced device management and security features for Android Enterprise deployments.

Android is becoming the go-to operating system (OS) in the enterprise, providing the level of management and security businesses want for their preferred Android devices. The mobility journey begins with identifying what your business needs and then providing a solution. Typically, the key steps to mobility are: 

• Defining requirements and use case.
• Planning device management and select Android Enterprise Recommended devices.
• Planning app management and deployment by selecting a compatible Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) software.
• Deployment & keeping devices secure and up-to-date by working with your Enterprise Mobility Integrator of choice.

The first step in your Android Enterprise journey is:

  1. Select an Android Enterprise Recommended device. Android Enterprise Recommended is a standard of excellence for enterprise device manufacturers. Additionally, Android Enterprise Recommended provides curated and validated devices that have timely security patches and major operating system updates. There are hundreds of device manufacturers and thousands of available Android devices to choose from, but Imaginative Solutions recommends Zebra manufactured devices for their reliability, performance, cost, and their built-in suite of enterprise solutions designed to help maximize mobile user productivity and minimize service requests called Mobility DNA.android-enterprise-recommended
  2. The next step on your Android Enterprise journey is to choose a compatible Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) software. Approved EMM providers are verified by Google to support all the standard features for each management option they offer. EMM provides the software that unlocks the Android Enterprise capabilities in the operating system, enabling companies to manage their devices, deploy apps, and keep devices secured and updated.  EMMs work with the Android Enterprise framework to provide various management tools and EMM enforced security policy controls such as:

    • Strong passwords and device security challenges.
    • Prohibiting clipboard copy and paste across profiles.• Silent app distribution.
    • Per-app VPN connectivity.
    • Restricting the use of camera and microphone on devices.
    • Remote locking or wiping of business data.

    There are several EMM/MDMs on the market including Ivanti Avalanche, MobileIron, Microsoft Intune, etc., but Imaginative Solutions recommends SOTI Mobicontrol above all because of its depth of features and management capabilities. This includes remote view/control of devices for troubleshooting, creating geofences to lock devices when they leave a restricted area, an intuitive and modern UI (user interface) console, and much more. Lastly, now that you have your Android Enterprise device and compatible EMM you'll want to work with a Enterprise Mobility Integrator.

    Imaginative Solutions provides a comprehensive portfolio of Enterprise Mobility Services including building your devices configurations and settings that we refer to as the "golden image". We work with your IT team to gather all the required apps & configurations, latest operating system updates and security patches, and create the device groups and agents used to install the EMM/MDM. We then work with your IT team to enroll and deploy the devices and install the preconfigured "golden image" over-the-air. In summary, Enterprise Mobility Integrator Partners such as Imaginative Solutions offer mobility consulting services provide the following:

    Mobility consulting: Helping enterprises and advising clients on mobility platform selection.
    Device procurement, kitting, deployment: Helping enterprises purchase devices, stage them for enrollment in a management solution, ship to employees.
    Deployment and configuration: of mobility management platforms like the Android Enterprise Recommended EMMs.
    •  Post-deployment Managed services and/or helpdesk: Complete operation of an enterprise mobility deployment, including operation of the mobility management solution and potentially the first line helpdesk for a company.

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What Else Does Android Enterprise Offer?

Make everyone’s job easier by enabling administrators with previously unavailable features, including:

SECURITY

Security fears and data loss are the largest barrier to implementing a mobility solution in business. 40% of IT admins* say security is the top challenge to mobility in general, placing it ahead of issues such as the complexity of mobile technology or cost.

From hardware to applications, Android has strong security built-in. Many businesses have experienced compromises, and security has emerged as a primary concern for IT admins. All Android devices come with hardware-backed security and always-on data encryption.

Securing data is a top priority for companies who have critical data that needs to be protected from malicious third parties. Staff must keep information, such as appointment bookings, HR records, and customer information secure from competitors and prying eyes. Additionally, personal data on employee devices needs to be kept safe and private. Android Enterprise offers multi-layered security for OS, hardware, and software across the ecosystem.

• Wi-Fi can be restricted to joining specific networks and other controls can be added to enforce stronger encryption.
• Always-on VPN or force specific apps to use one
• managed Google Play store allows organizations to publish their private apps and end-users can select company-approved apps, all verified with Google Play Protect.

Android Platform

The Android platform has complete security and ensures device and data integrity, with features such as application sandboxing, encrypted employee credentials, and monthly security updates provided by Google.

Hardware Elements

Android devices have dedicated secure hardware elements that carry out the most critical tasks, such as encryption and keeping biometric data separate from the OS. These dedicated secure elements help protect against attackers, who use sophisticated equipment and physical access to extract data from devices. Android devices have tamper-resistant hardware to ensure the OS hasn’t been compromised. Dedicated components handle critical tasks like encryption or screen lock.

Services

Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) policy controls and management allow IT admins to lockdown a fleet of devices and protect a company’s data, while workers are mobile. For example, disabling the camera or enforcing a strong password.

Google Play Protect

Google Play Protect arms devices with the most up-to-date security, detecting and blocking potentially harmful applications. Providing 24/7 mobile security that scans apps and devices, Google Play Protect is built-in malware protection that works on all Android devices to keep devices clean and data safe. Over 100 billion apps are scanned daily, using cutting-edge machine learning to block threats. Google Safe Browsing protects employees from malware and phishing while online. It is extremely secure and you're more likely to get struck by lightning than download malware from the Play store when utilizing Android Enterprise.*

(*Note: 0.002% of Android Enterprise devices were found to have malware while the chances of being hit by lightning in your lifetime in the USA are 0.0065%.)

Continued Investment

Google continues to invest in security with a vulnerability reward program, monthly security updates, and ongoing research to ensure that Android is always on the front lines of data and device protection.

Compliance

Android Enterprise meets the strictest privacy and security standards for an information security management system. Using standards and achieving security certificates makes it much easier for device manufacturers to build devices that can be certified for highly-regulated markets, such as financial institutions. With SOC 2 and 3 reports, and an ISO 27001 certification, it’s in line with the highest security benchmarks and is committed to complying with GDPR.

Android Enterprise Certifications

EASY ANDROID DEPLOYMENT

• Provision Android devices quickly with a variety of staging methods including barcode scanning, Samsung Knox Mobile Enrollment and zero-touch enrollment (ZTE)
• Silently provision corporate email, contacts, apps and security policies over-the-air (OTA) without user input
•  Control key device features remotely, such as camera, App Store, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth®, NFC and configure Access Point Name (APN) settings
•  Support all Android Enterprise deployment configurations, including: Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), Corporately Owned, Business Only (COBO) and Choose Your Own Device (CYOD)

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GUARANTEE SECURITY AND PRIVACY

•  Establish device integrity before enrollment using SafetyNet Attestation, and get instant alerts if the device becomes compromised
•  Enforce strong passwords and data encryption, manage certificates and prevent data leakages from corporate apps
•  Automatically scan for viruses/malware with antivirus powered by BitDefender
•  Restrict devices to a single app or suite of apps using Kiosk Mode/lockdown
•  Create work profiles to keep personal and corporate apps, accounts and data separate
•  Prevent unauthorized parties from factory resetting and re-provisioning company owned devices

 

MANAGE APPS AND CONTENT

•  Deploy enterprise apps securely through a private app catalog•
•  Provide a curated enterprise app store on Google Play to separate work and personal apps
•  Control access to, and edit, corporate files and documents using the SOTI Hub secure content editor
•  Enforce web access policies with the SOTI Surf secure browser to ensure authorized access to web content

 

BUSINESS-CRITICAL FEATURES

•  Remotely support mobile users by viewing and controlling devices and device files OTA•
•  Track and report on devices globally, send alerts or modify device behaviors based on location
•  Manage telecom expenses for each user, send alerts or shutdown device features when thresholds are exceeded
•  The SOTI MobiControl System Health Dashboard1 gives you real-time and 48-hour visibility into operational stats to help you make smart, data-based decisions to optimize SOTI MobiControl performance

2.5

Billion Android Devices Word-wide

63%

Less Expensive than Comparable Apple Devices

30%

Eliminates 30% of Android-related help desk calls.

75%

Reduces the resources required for audit and compliance management by 75%

Android Enterprise Testimonials

“I can’t stress how massively important it is that we can separate work and personal data with the work profile. It helps us give our end users an extra level of security, something that is incredibly important to our users.”

Technical Architect, Financial Services

“Android Enterprise enables us to manage our Android devices as a platform instead of individual devices.”

Software Information Systems Engineer
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