Optimizing MDM Deployment for Small and Medium-sized Businesses

[prasadi57]

Hello everyone,

I recently started using Meraki MDM to manage mobile devices within my small to medium-sized business. As I’m in the process of scaling our deployment, I've encountered some challenges regarding configuration efficiency and consistent security practices across multiple devices.

Given that our fleet consists of around 50-100 devices, I’m looking for insights on how to streamline the setup process while maintaining high security standards and ensuring a seamless end-user experience. Specifically, are there any best practices, automation tools, or workflows that have proven effective in reducing the overhead of configuration and updates in an SMB environment?

I would greatly appreciate any advice or shared experiences from those who have managed similar deployments, particularly in terms of balancing efficiency with security and scalability.

Thank you in advance for your input!

[kYutobi]

I’ve been using Meraki MDM for managing devices in my business too, and I totally get the challenges you're facing as you scale. Here are a few things that have worked well for me:

1. Profiles and Tags: Group your devices by roles (like departments or job functions) using profiles and tags. This makes it a lot easier to manage configurations in bulk instead of doing them one by one.

2. Automated Enrollments: If you haven’t already, I’d highly recommend setting up Apple’s DEP or Android Enterprise. They make it so much simpler to enroll devices straight out of the box, which ensures you’re applying security settings from the start.

3. Security Baselines: Establishing a security baseline (like setting up password policies, encryption, and remote wipe) will keep things consistent and safe across all devices without much extra work.

4. App Updates and Whitelisting: Meraki’s Systems Manager lets you automate app updates and installations, so you don’t have to manually manage them on each device. That way, everything stays up to date with the latest patches.

5. Cloning Configurations: If you have similar devices, cloning configurations can be a big time-saver. You just tweak the details as needed, like Wi-Fi or device names.

6. Automation and APIs: If you’re up for it, using scripts or Meraki’s API can help automate repetitive tasks like pushing updates or gathering device info, which really helps once you’re managing a lot of devices.

7. User Training: Lastly, a little bit of user education goes a long way. If your users understand basic tasks, it’ll reduce the number of help desk tickets and make everything run smoother.