Mobile device management software lets an organisation enrol, secure, update and, when needed, wipe every laptop, phone and tablet it owns or allows. Arke Technologies, in Johannesburg, runs device and IT asset management for South African organisations, public bodies and schools, on Microsoft Intune, Apple and Google tools, with one accurate asset register.
In computer terms, device management is controlling an organisation's devices from one place: enrolling them, applying settings and security policies, installing and updating software, and retiring each device safely. Mobile device management (MDM) began with phones and tablets. Endpoint management extends it to laptops and desktops, and unified endpoint management (UEM) brings every endpoint, from a Windows laptop to a rugged Android scanner, under one console and one set of policies. Unified endpoint management examples include Intune managing Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android devices together, and Google managing Chromebooks and phones in one admin console.
A mobile device management program is the software. The programme around it is what makes it work: device standards, enrolment rules, patching windows, a lost-device procedure and an asset register that finance and IT agree on. We run both, as part of our managed IT services.
Device management on Windows runs through Intune and Entra ID, or Group Policy where machines still join an on-premises domain. Windows 10 reached end of support on 14 October 2025, so Windows 10 device management now means upgrading to Windows 11, replacing machines that cannot run it, or paying for Extended Security Updates while you do.
Device management for Apple uses Apple Business Manager, or Apple School Manager in schools, so Macs, iPhones and iPads enrol automatically and users cannot remove the management. Mobile device management for Apple also enforces FileVault encryption and passcodes.
Device management for Android uses Android Enterprise: a work profile keeps company apps and data apart from personal ones on staff-owned phones, and company-owned devices are fully managed. Zero-touch enrolment sets new devices up out of the box, and a device management app on Android, such as Microsoft's Company Portal, completes enrolment.
Chromebooks for learners and staff are managed in the Google Admin console. Google account device management also shows each user the phones and computers signed in to their account, so a lost one can be signed out, and administrators can block or wipe a managed device from the console. See learner devices for schools.
What is IT asset management? IT asset management (ITAM) is tracking every IT asset, from laptops and servers to software licences and cloud subscriptions, through its life: purchase, allocation, maintenance, transfer and disposal. An IT asset inventory lists what you have; IT asset inventory management keeps that list true as people join, move and leave.
Hardware IT asset management and software asset management meet in one register. We build it from what the tools can see, such as Microsoft's Intune and Defender inventories and Google's device lists, and reconcile it to the fixed-asset register your finance team keeps in SAP, Sage or another ERP, so IT and finance count the same laptops. For public bodies this is a legal duty: the PFMA (section 38) and the MFMA (section 63) make accounting officers responsible for managing and safeguarding assets, and the public service's ICT governance framework lists IT asset lifecycle management among the general IT controls a department's head of ICT reports on (DPSA, March 2022).
IT asset management also anchors security. The NIST Cybersecurity Framework opens its Identify function with asset management, and the first two CIS Controls are inventories of hardware and software: you cannot protect a device you do not know about.
Software for IT asset management runs from open-source IT asset management tools such as Snipe-IT to commercial suites from ServiceNow and from Zoho, whose ManageEngine range covers asset and mobile device management. Analyst reports such as the Gartner Magic Quadrant, and peer reviews, help build a shortlist; the right IT asset management tool is the one your team will keep current. Before choosing mobile device management solutions, ask:
Open-source endpoint management has its place: our own remote-access platform is built on open-source RustDesk, with a management layer we own.
Every 15 minutes
monitoring checks on each managed computer
14 October 2025
Windows 10 end of support
Monthly
service review and device compliance report
Mobile device management security is where the service earns its keep: an encrypted, managed laptop left in a taxi is an inconvenience, while an unmanaged one may be a POPIA breach you must report.
Incidents prioritised from P1 to P4, with response and resolution targets agreed in your SLA, and a monthly service review and report on device counts, compliance, patch status, encryption and devices not seen.
Controls aligned with the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and CIS Controls, POPIA security safeguards (section 19) and breach handling (section 22), and asset evidence for King IV or King V governance and PFMA or MFMA audits. See POPIA compliance.
Level 1 B-BBEE contributor (sworn affidavit available on request); company documents, CSD supplier number and SARS tax compliance status available on request; bought through a proposal and SLA, a purchase order or a tender response. See company facts.
The service is priced per user, so it scales with your fleet under the same contract. You own the MDM tenant, admin credentials, policies, register and documentation, and at exit we hand them over with a written runbook.
Last reviewed: September 2026.
Device management has three costs: the licence, the management and the rollout. The licence is often paid for already, since Intune comes with Microsoft 365 Business Premium, E3 and E5, and Google Workspace includes basic endpoint management. The management is usually part of a per-user managed IT fee; published South African managed IT rates run from about R180 to R400 per user per month (matnet.co.za, September 2026). The rollout, enrolling the existing fleet and building the register, is quoted as a project. The price moves with the number of devices and platforms, staff-owned phones, shared or rugged devices and the reporting you need. We quote after an assessment; see managed IT pricing.
