Containerization of Android devices

Present-day organizations have been following a trend wherein employees can access corporate data using their personal devices, popularly known as BYOD (Bring Your Own Devices). A BYOD environment provides a win-win situation for both the enterprise as well as their employees through numerous benefits that it offers. However, the uncertainty of enterprise data security is a major concern and employees might not consent to having their devices fully managed. This brings about a necessity to leverage a mobile device management(MDM) solution to enable mobile device containerization. With ManageEngine Mobile Device Manager Plus, BYOD deployments can be managed without compromising on security by leveraging the benefits of device containerization, a feature of MDM.

A work profile is created on BYOD deployments upon enrolling devices using the following methods, also known as the user enrollment methods:

• Enrollment through user Invites
• Bulk enrollment
• Self enrollment

Devices can effortlessly be enrolled and brought under management using the various Enrollment methods offered by Mobile Device Manager Plus. A work profile will be created in Android BYOD deployments upon enrollment. This is possible with Containerization, which is the logical isolation of enterprise data from personal data while co-existing in the same device. The major benefit of containerization using MDM is that administrators can only control work profiles which are kept separate from the user's personal accounts, apps, and data.

The work profile notifications and app icons will have a work badge to be distinguished from personal notifications and apps. The following are the benefits of Android containerization offered through MDM:

Key benefits of Containerization

1. Data Privacy and Content Security
   • A dedicated password can be configured for the container apart from the device password which ensures additional security of corporate resources present in the workspace.
   • The created container is encrypted by default, thereby securing corporate data.
   • The flow of data in & out of the container is prohibited. Hence the user is restricted from copying or pasting content between the corporate and personal workspace. Within the container, the screen capture device functionality gets restricted as well.
   • Data sharing is allowed only between the apps present within the container. Hence, accidental as well as intentional sharing of data with personal apps is prevented.
   • Sharing of data present in the container through USB connections is restricted.
2. Complete control over Workspace
   • Only managed apps can be installed in the containerized corporate workspace.
   • A Play Store is created exclusively for the workspace. The apps downloaded by the user from this Play Store is completely governed by MDM.
   • The IT Administrator has complete control over the apps and data present in the corporate container.
   • With Content Management, documents and media files of several formats can be pushed to the container ensuring the user can only view, download, or store them using the ME MDM app.
   • Unmanaged apps or third-party cloud services cannot be utilized to access or save corporate data.
   • In case of any violated policies, the workspace cannot be accessed by the user.
3. User Data Privacy
   • The users have complete control over their personal data as the administrator or the organization cannot access the user-accounts, apps, and data present outside the container.
4. Native Android Experience
   • The corporate workspace co-exists with the personal space on the device ensuring the native Android experience is offered to the users.
   • The employees need not utilize multiple devices for personal and official purposes.

Another benefit of using MDM for containerization is that, there can exist two versions of any app, inside and outside the container if certain apps are meant to be used for both work as well as personal purpose. The flow of data between both versions is restricted in addition to the transfer of data, in and out of the container.

For managing enterprise-owned devices, provisioning them as Device Owner provides additional features whereby complete device management is achieved. Click here to learn more about other enrollment methods that Mobile Device Manager Plus has to offer.