Quick Summary
This article reveals how startups can build effective, scalable MDM processes from scratch by setting clear device management goals, choosing the right platform, enforcing BYOD security policies, and streamlining offboarding. It also explains how pairing Shepherd MDM with lifecycle services such as Boomerang improves asset management and reduces costs.
Why Do You Need MDM for Startups?
High overhead costs are a common financial problem among tech startups. Many make the mistake of overinvesting in headcount instead of leveraging scalable digital solutions.
We often see this in small IT teams struggling with manual processes, such as onboarding, enrollment, configuration, and fleet management. It is slow, repetitive work, and IT tickets pile up.
Management looks into the mess someday and goes, “You know what? We’ll just hire one more person.”
But new hires are expensive; you invest in salaries, benefits, workspace, technology, and training until operational costs overshadow revenue.
MDM for startups provides a digital solution to this problem. It allows IT teams to remotely manage work devices from a unified interface, saving time, cost, and manpower.
Why Listen to Us?
For more than 40 years, Device for Teams has partnered with thousands of businesses to manage their IT hardware lifecycles. With a 4.9 Trustpilot rating and over 1,400 reviews, our track record speaks for itself.
As part of our broader Device-as-a-Service (DaaS) offering, we oversee zero-touch deployment and fleet management on comprehensive MDM platforms, including Shepherd MDM.
Shepherd is uniquely suited to SMEs and startups due to its broad functionality and competitive pricing. Our expertise with this and other tools provides real-world insight into what makes MDM processes effective at an organisational scale.
What is MDM for Startups?
Mobile Device Management (MDM) is a cloud-based software that allows IT teams to deploy devices, define security policies, distribute apps, and ensure compliance from a single dashboard. It enables the remote monitoring and management of all company devices.
Modern businesses use various devices for different roles: laptops for customer reps, tablets for warehouse staff, and more. MDM enables IT teams to centrally configure these devices and protect company data across all touchpoints.
MDM for startups should function without a dedicated IT department. While enterprise MDM prioritises features that support large-scale deployments and thousands of endpoints, MDM for startups focuses on ease of use, flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and core management functions.
The relevance of MDM for startups extends beyond managing company-owned devices. In fact, they’re even more important with a BYOD provisioning system, where security standards vary and multiple users can access employee-owned devices.
Quick History of MDM
The origin of MDM dates back to the late 1990s, when Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) such as the PalmPilot emerged. They were small, battery-powered devices that helped professionals manage contacts, email, to-do lists, and calendars.
In the early 2000s, mobile devices became popular, and PDAs lost all relevance. However, with the adoption of mobile devices in business came the need to centralise enterprise device management.
In response, the first MDM solutions were created for specific devices that dominated the market. Subsequently, as more devices emerged with different operating systems, MDM technology evolved to support multiple platforms.
Key Features of MDM for Startups
The Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) trend of the 2010s was a turning point for MDM.
Lower provisioning costs and more flexibility? Yes, please! Startups were eating it up.
However, employee-owned devices exposed company data to increased security risks, prompting MDM vendors to introduce advanced features that enable teams to control specific apps, secure corporate documents, and restrict app usage by location.
Today, modern MDM solutions like Shepherd offer robust features that support BYOD policies, AI-powered security, and diverse operating systems. A good MDM for startups should offer the following features:
Automated setup and preconfiguration of new devices
Remote security and compliance enforcement
Business app management and updating
Data protection actions for compromised devices
Usage reporting and visibility into device health
Remote troubleshooting and complaint resolution
Containerised digital work environments for BYOD
How to Create an Effective MDM Process as a Startup
Once you have the steps down, implementing MDM for startups is simple. Here are 5 steps to an MDM process tailored to your brand’s needs:
1. Set Your Device Management Goals
An effective MDM strategy aims to improve specific business friction points. Are you concerned with data security, reducing operational costs, or speeding up device retrieval after offboarding?
Your goal can look something like this:
‘Recover all offboarded devices within 72 hours to repurpose them with minimal downtime.’
Setting clear goals helps determine which policies you configure and which services to use. For example, Device for Teams’ Boomerang service lets you quickly retrieve, reset, and redeploy devices after offboarding.
2. Take Inventory of Your Devices
How many devices are in your fleet? Are they laptops, tablets, or smartphones? What operating systems do they run on? Are they company-owned, personal devices, or a mix of both?
The answers to the questions above will also determine the best MDM solutions for your startup.
For example, Shepherd MDM is ideal for startups with a growing fleet of Apple devices. An enterprise with a mixed IT fleet will need MDM that supports multiple operating systems and group-based policies.
3. Select the Right MDM Software
Your MDM will impact productivity, security, and growth potential. You must choose a platform that meets your business’s needs and supports your goals. Look out for:
Compatibility with your operating system(s)
Security features like role-specific access, threat detection, and remote actions
Compliance with privacy standards like GDPR and HIPAA
Comprehensive platforms with intuitive UI
Scalability to grow with your needs
Integration with your existing tools
High-quality vendor support and documentation
Explore MDM solutions from established vendors, such as Device for Teams, which offers add-on services, including Boomerang lifecycle management. Boomerang protects your investments by ensuring devices are returned by remote leavers.
4. Develop Company Device Policies
Outline and enforce clear device policies that communicate business expectations regarding device use. To balance usage and security, your policies should address:
Acceptable usage guidelines–permissions, usage hours, approved websites
Cybersecurity measures
Data handling and privacy
App installation restrictions
Consequences for violations
Procedures to request an upgrade, repair, or replacement
Return process after offboarding
Startups can create company-wide device policies that apply to all company-managed devices. However, enterprises with up to 200 employees will benefit from having a separate company laptop policy.
5. Pilot Testing
Conduct a pilot test on your MDM solution before a company-wide rollout. Here’s how Device for Teams handles pilot testing:
Select a small group of users across different roles, device types, and locations
Validate each device’s compatibility with the MDM solution
Test policies in real-world scenarios
Identify usability issues early
Gather feedback for adjustments
Pilot testing also helps build a group outside the IT team that is familiar with the new technology and can support the wider rollout.
Key Benefits of MDM for Startups
MDM will give your startup full control over its IT assets.
“The most important function of an MDM is to give your business adequate control of your IT hardware assets. You can push apps, content, operating system updates, and security updates remotely. All these functions allow you to level up your cybersecurity and prevent breaches via human error.”
— Steve Hill, cybersecurity expert at HardSoft
Here are five reasons MDM is essential for growing businesses:
1. Cost Saving
MDM for startups helps cut down costs through automated device provisioning and other channels. By eliminating manual configuration and streamlining management processes, MDM solutions reduce IT support costs and eliminate the need for additional headcount.
By supporting BYOD policies, MDM helps startups save an average of £350 per employee annually.
2. Security and Compliance
Weak passwords, outdated operating systems, and unauthorised apps open devices up to cyber threats and data breaches from malware or phishing attacks. In 2024, 48% of organisations experienced data breaches linked to unsecured or unmanaged personal devices.
MDM protects business data with enforced encryption, app usage restrictions, and strong password policies. It allows you to remotely lock or wipe compromised devices, erase business data, and monitor ongoing compliance.
3. Faster Onboarding and Productivity
Time and productivity are critical for any startup scaling operations rapidly, and 68% of organisations using MDM report higher productivity. Where manual deployment for new hires used to take hours or days, automated device enrollment now takes under 5 minutes.
With MDM, new hires can receive preconfigured devices — with all necessary applications, security settings, and email accounts. The IT team can also configure features that enhance productivity, such as kiosk mode.
4. App and Policy Updates
OTA (over-the-air) software updates are a major benefit of MDM for startups. Your IT team can skip manual configurations and automate policy enforcement across the entire fleet.
Push essential software, OS updates, settings, apps, and app updates instantly to devices based on the user’s role and department.
5. Simple, Centralised Console
With hybrid work environments popular today, one employee may work from a London office, another from a home in Leeds, or a café in Bristol.
MDM allows startups to manage all company devices across different locations from a single, centralised dashboard. This function is especially valuable in retail and logistics, where devices are distributed across in-house and field teams.
6. Scalability
Scalability is a major advantage for early-stage startups. Cloud-based MDM tools can scale from managing 10 devices to over 1,000 without significant cost increases.
As your business grows, you’ll naturally add more devices to your fleet. A pay-as-you-grow model prevents overinvestment early on, allowing you to expand gradually as your team grows.
Best Practices for Effective MDM for Startups
After implementing a good MDM solution, the next step is to put measures in place that ensure you’re using it effectively.
Here’s how to get the best ROI on your MDM investments:
1. Don't Mix Personal and Corporate Data
For startups with a BYOD provisioning model, containerisation is important to keep business data and work applications separate from personal content.
Most modern MDM solutions support containerisation principles to secure data on BYOD devices.
2. Update Devices Automatically
Outdated security patches are a liability. Configure your MDM to automatically push security updates, even if users defer feature updates to a more convenient time.
Businesses that automate patch management are less likely to experience security incidents than those that push patches manually.
3. Define Access Controls By Role
Employees in different roles and levels should have selective access to corporate resources to minimise security risks. Use your MDM to define role-based permissions so that employees can access only data and apps related to their role and remain productive.
4. Train Employees
Don’t assume that staff will automatically understand company device policies, security policies, or management requirements.
Hold regular orientation sessions to explain device policies to employees, from acceptable use to data handling and incident response, then have them sign off on it
5. Create Offboarding Protocol
Employee turnover is inevitable, especially for startups still scaling or figuring out the ropes. Create an offboarding process that includes revoking MDM access, wiping corporate data, and recovering company-owned devices.
For example, Device for Teams offers Boomerang, an IT asset management service for MDM that allows you to retrieve company devices from previous employees — even from remote locations.
A courier delivers a protective box to the former employee, who places the company device inside. The courier returns it to D4T, where it is securely wiped to ISO 27001 standards.
Scale With The Best MDM for Startups
MDM for startups lays the foundation for secure, scalable growth. From automated onboarding to remote policy deployments and secure offboarding, an effective MDM strategy will reduce business costs, enhance compliance, and free up your IT team for growth-aligned tasks.
If you pair comprehensive solutions like Shepherd MDM with the Boomerang lifecycle management service for device retrieval and repurposing, MDM becomes a full asset management solution.
Ready to streamline device management and protect your assets? Book a call with the Device for Teams team today.
Andrew Morgan is Co-Founder of HardSoft Computers, where he’s spent over 30 years driving innovation in tech leasing. With a focus on making IT solutions flexible and accessible, Andrew leads strategy across product development, SEO, and digital marketing.
He’s passionate about helping businesses thrive with the right technology and regularly shares insights on the HardSoft blog.
LinkedIn: Andrew Morgan
Email: [email protected]