How often do you go mobile? Is it just when you need to hit the road and visit a customer? Is it during your non-work hours? Or, if you’re like a growing number of professionals, does your mobile device serve as your primary communication tool? If so, you likely use it to access the corporate network – something that demands mobile device management.

Mobile device management, or MDM, is one of those “must-haves” for the corporate environment where mobile professionals need access to the network, applications, information and more. But it’s not just the large enterprise that can be at risk with mobile users; the individual need to pay attention to usage and where threats may lie.

For instance, mobile users are increasingly downloading apps that may make life easier, but leverage a little too much private information. At the same time, the mobile user is busy and may not know what’s at risk or the inherent vulnerabilities. Have you ever simply accepted a notification from the app developer because you were in a hurry, but didn’t really read what was written in the message? If so, MDM was actually designed for people like you.

Fortunately, there’s an app for that. Tangoe (News - Alert) Mobile is a newly developed app that combines rTEM and MDM along with a carrier plan optimization tool and enhanced policy enforcement capabilities. This allows the busy mobile user to automatically manage applications, track overall usage as compared with other carrier plans and even receive notifications about usage from IT. In other words, if you’re accessing too many videos to be in compliance with the corporate policy, they’ll let you know about it.

Plus, if you’re trying to access an app that can put you or your information at risk, MDM capabilities will stop the download. If someone is trying to access information through your connection, the solution can put a stop to that as well. It will also manage the operation of the device as it relates to accessing applications, data, video and more. With real-time visibility, you or your IT department (or both) can know what’s going on with your device at any given time.

Whether or not your company makes the shift to bring your own device (BYOD), it’s likely that you’re using some sort of mobile device to do your job. If MDM isn’t involved in the process, you could be putting your information or your company’s network in a vulnerable position – one that hackers will quickly exploit. Given the growing use of open source options to expand capabilities and information sharing via mobile connections, putting more control over mobile capabilities and user policies lends to an improved and protected experience.