We have the goods on 11 top vendors, in 10 different features categories
Credit: Thinkstock
Enterprise mobility management (EMM) helps companies secure their mobile infrastructure, as well as control device policies and manage mobile apps, content, networks and services. The platforms have been around for a while; some might know them as mobile device management (MDM) suites. But those suites have matured and adopted new features.
EMM also plays a role in overseeing expenses related to communications services, mobile policies and identity management.
Of these jobs, “content and applications are probably most important in a mobile environment, assuming the identity component is in place across the organization,” says Craig Mathias, principal at Farpoint Group, a research firm that specializes in wireless and mobile technologies and services.
Click to the next page to see how the current crop of tools compares.
Further reading: Mobile management takes on apps, content.
Editor’s note: This chart was originally posted in May 2013 and was updated in March 2015 and again on June 27, 2016. We chose the vendors and products listed here based on conversations with independent analysts about which have significant market share or are important to include for other reasons such as features and functions. All information in the chart about the products and services comes from the respective vendors.
To see the entire chart, please scroll down a bit and use your keyboard’s arrow keys to navigate from the left-hand to the right-hand sides of the chart.
If you’re interested in a particular feature set, here’s another way of getting around: Just click on a topic in the bulleted list and you’ll get to that specific section of the chart.
- Deployment options (on-premises, cloud)
- Mobile platforms supported
- Mobile device management (selective wipe, disable camera, etc.)
- Mobile application management (sandboxing, remote app management, etc.)
- Security (app whitelisting/blacklisting, secure web browser, firewall, etc.)
- Document/content management (encrypted document container, secure email, etc.)
- Network management (roaming cost control, device diagnostics, usage monitoring, etc.)
- Service management (help desk support management, remote control of device, etc.)
- Integration with PC management tools
- Reporting (alerts, real-time dashboards, app-level analytics, etc.)
Mobile management vendors compared
| AirWatch/VMware | Blackberry | Citrix | IBM | Landesk | Microsoft | MobileIron | SAP | Sophos | Soti | Symantec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deployment options | |||||||||||
| Product Name(s) | VMware AirWatch Enterprise Mobility Management | BES12 | Citrix XenMobile | IBM MaaS360 | Landesk Management Suite and Mobile Security Suite 2016 + Wavelink Avalanche 6.1 | Enterprise Mobility Suite (includes Microsoft Intune, Azure Active Directory Premium, Azure RMS, and Advanced Threat Analytics) | MobileIron | SAP Mobile Secure – Enterprise Mobility Management | Sophos Mobile Control | MobiControl | Symantec Mobility: Suite |
| On premises | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, integrated solution: Microsoft Intune and System Center Configuration Manager | Yes | Yes and support for Hybrid environments | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cloud/SaaS | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (Landesk Mobile Security Suite 2016 + Wavelink Avalanche 6.1) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile platforms supported | |||||||||||
| Product name(s) | VMware AirWatch Enterprise Mobility Management | BES12 | Citrix XenMobile | IBM MaaS360 | Landesk Management Suite 2016 + Landesk Mobile Security Suite 2016 + Wavelink Avalanche 6.1 | Enterprise Mobility Suite | MobileIron | SAP Mobile Secure – Enterprise Mobility Management | Sophos Mobile Control | MobiControl | Symantec Mobility: Suite |
| iOS | Yes – with additional support for Apple Watch | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (Apple iOS 7x +) |
| Android | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, (Android 4x and 5.0-5.1 32 bit) |
| Android for Work | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Extended Android APIs | Yes | Yes (Samsung KNOX) | Yes | Yes | No | Yes (Samsung KNOX) | Yes | Yes (Samsung KNOX 2.4.1, SAFE, LG MDM, Zebra/Motorola OS extensions) | Yes (Samsung SAFE and KNOX, LG Gate, Sony) | Yes | No |
| BlackBerry | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Windows Mobile | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes – with on-premises MDM | Yes | Yes | No |
| Windows Phone 7 | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Windows Phone 8 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Other (name) | Windows 10, Mac OS X, Apple TV OS, Chrome OS, Tizen, Symbian S60 and ^3 | Windows 10, Mac OS X | Windows 8.1 (x86), Windows Phone 10, Windows 10 (x86), Mac OS, Samsung SAFE, Samsung KNOX, Amazon Kindle, HTC, Sony/Ericcson | Samsung SAFE, Amazon Fire, Windows 10, Mac OS | Rugized Windows ; Windows Phone 10 Coming in 2016 | Windows 10 and Mac OS X | Windows 10 | Windows 10 Desktop | No | Windows 10 | |
| Mobile device management | |||||||||||
| Product Name(s) | VMware AirWatch Mobile Device Management | BES12 | Citrix XenMobile | IBM MaaS360 | Landesk Management Suite 2016 + Landesk Mobile Security Suite 2016 + Wavelink Avalanche 6.1 | Enterprise Mobility Suite | MobileIron | SAP Mobile Device Management _ Mobile Device Management | Sophos Mobile Control | MobiControl | Symantec Mobility: Device Management |
| Password protection | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Password reset | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Remote device wipe | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Selective wipe | Yes | Yes, work data | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Remote lock | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Set VPN, Wi-Fi, APN, proxy/gateway settings | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Disable Wi-Fi | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (only for Samsung) |
| Disable carrier data connection | Yes | Yes | Yes (while roaming on iOS, base policy KNOX etc.) | Yes | Yes | Yes (Roaming) | Yes | Yes | Yes, for Samsung SAFE, LG Gate, Sony; iOS and WinMobile restrict data while roaming | Yes | Yes (for iOS, Samsung) |
| Configuration monitoring/auditing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Automated provisioning/enrollment | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes for iOS DEP | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Disable camera | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes for iOS/WP on Android requires hardware api | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Disable Bluetooth | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (only for Windows, Samsung) |
| Manage mobile-attached devices (e.g printers, scanners) | Yes | No | Yes | Yes – Apple TV | Yes | No, but can block removable storage | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes (only for iOS) |
| Support multiple users per device (auto-configure device settings based on the currently logged in user) | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No |
| Mobile application management | |||||||||||
| Product name(s) | VMware AirWatch Mobile Application Management | BES12 | Citrix XenMobile | IBM MaaS360 | Landesk Management Suite 2016 + Landesk Mobile Security Suite 2016 | Enterprise Mobility Suite | MobileIron | SAP Mobile Place _ Mobile Application Management | Sophos Mobile Control | MobiControl | Symantec Mobility: Application Management |
| User self-service app delivery | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Full-featured enterprise app store | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Containerization/sandboxing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| App containerization using developer SDK/toolkit | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| App containerization using app wrapping | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes, via partner | Yes |
| Block copy/paste between apps | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Block copy/paste from email | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Restrict which apps can open a given file | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| App inventory tracking | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| App usage monitoring | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Apple volume purchase program integration (decrements volume purchase agreement quantity available as users download apps from store) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Remote desktop access (access to apps and data on desktop from smartphone or tablet) | Partial – Access virtual desktops via unified workspace with VMware Identity Manager | Yes, via partners | Yes | Yes, via partners | No | Yes with Azure RemoteApp and Microsoft Remote Desktop App | No | No | No | Yes | |
| Supports native OS app controls on iOS | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Supports native OS app controls on Android for Work | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Security | |||||||||||
| Product name(s) | VMware AirWatch Enterprise Mobility Management | BES12 | Citrix XenMobile | IBM MaaS360 | Landesk Management Suite 2016 + Landesk Mobile Security Suite 2016 | Enterprise Mobility Suite | MobileIron | SAP Mobile Secure; SAP Mobile App Protection _ Mobile App Wrapping for App Security; SAP Mobile Platform Mobile SDK | Sophos Mobile Control | MobiControl | “Symantec Mobility: Threat Protection, Symantec Mobility: Workforce Apps (Secure Mail, Secure Web)” |
| Secure Web browser | Yes (VMware AirWatch Browser) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Application blacklisting/whitelisting | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Data loss prevention (DLP) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Email attachment data loss prevention | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Device compromise detection (jailbreak/rooting) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Device-level encryption | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Encrypted folder | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes (OneDrive For Business capability) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (for app specific folders) |
| Encrypted email attachments | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (Azure RMS capability) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Encrypted email message body | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (Azure RMS capability) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Geofencing | Yes | Yes, via partners | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, conditional access based on Location/IP for web apps | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Time fencing | Yes | Yes, via partners | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Mobile VPN | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (for IOS) |
| App-level micro VPN | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (through app proxy) |
| Multifactor device/app authentication (token-based, facial recognition, client access card support, etc.) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes, via partners | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Malware detection | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes, via partners | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Includes firewall | Yes | Yes | Yes (with NetScaler Web Application Firewall) | Yes | No | Yes | Yes when accessed via mobile | Yes, via partners | No | Yes | No |
| Single sign-on support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile identity | Yes (VMware Identity Manager) | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Entitlement management | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Document/content management | |||||||||||
| Product name(s) | VMware AirWatch Enterprise Mobility Management | BES12 | Citrix XenMobile | IBM MaaS360 | Landesk Management Suite 2016 + Landesk Mobile Security Suite 2016 | Enterprise Mobility Suite | MobileIron | SAP Mobile Secure; SAP Mobile App Protection _ Mobile App Wrapping for App Security; SAP Mobile Platform Mobile SDK | Sophos Mobile Control | MobiControl | “Symantec Mobility: Threat Protection, Symantec Mobility: Workforce Apps (Secure Mail, Secure Web)” |
| Encrypted document container | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | MobileIron | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (for iOS) |
| Secure email | Yes | Yes, via Good | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (Outlook) | Yes | Yes via iOS OS API and Android for Work. Also can deploy and manage 3rd party email from Symantec, Microsoft Outlook | Yes | Yes, via partner | Yes |
| File server access | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Secure SharePoint access | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Integates with enteprise document management software | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Network management | |||||||||||
| Product name(s) | VMware AirWatch Enterprise Mobility Management | BES12 | Citrix XenMobile | IBM MaaS360 | Landesk Management Suite 2016 + Landesk Mobile Security Suite 2016 | Enterprise Mobility Suite | MobileIron | SAP Mobile Secure products | Sophos Mobile Control | MobiControl | Symantec Mobility: Suite |
| Data usage management (restrict where, when and whether downloads occur over Wi-Fi or celluluar) | Yes | No | Yes | Yes – for MaaS360 Secure Document Sharing | No | No | Yes | Yes, within SAP Mobile Documents | Yes | Yes, via partner | Yes |
| Roaming cost control (such as auto disablement of data when roaming) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (for iOS, Samsung) |
| Device diagnostics | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Usage monitoring | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Block device from accessing email if policies violated | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Service management | |||||||||||
| Product name(s) | myAirWatch Online Community and Tools | BES12 | Citrix XenMobile | IBM MaaS360 | Landesk Management Suite 2016 + Landesk Mobile Security Suite 2016 | Enterprise Mobility Suite | MobileIron | SAP Mobile Secure | Sophos Mobile Control | MobiControl | Symantec Mobility: Suite |
| Help desk support management | Yes – monitors AirWatch support desk activity and evaluates performance against internal KPIs to ensure adequate staffing, training and escalation support | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Service monitoring | Yes – solution integrates with third-party monitoring solutions such as SCOM (on-premise only), SIEM and supports export of data via syslog and complete data mart (data mart available for dedicated cloud or on-premise) | Yes | With integration to third-party tools | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (on cloud) |
| Remote control of device | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes, via integrated 3rd-party solutions | Yes | No |
| User self-service portal | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Integration with PC management tools | |||||||||||
| Product name(s) | VMware AirWatch Enterprise Mobility Management | BES12 | Citrix XenMobile | IBM MaaS360 | Landesk Management Suite 2016 + Landesk Mobile Security Suite 2016 | Enterprise Mobility Suite | MobileIron | SAP Mobile Device Management | Sophos Mobile Control | MobiControl | Symantec Mobility: Suite |
| Offers a separate or integrated PC management tool | Solution supports PC management | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, seamless integration with System Center Configuration Manager | Yes | Yes | Yes – Windows 10 Desktop management from unified console | Yes, via partner | Yes |
| Integrates with a third-party tool (name) | N/A | No | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Offers integrated management console for PC and mobile management | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, seamless integration with System Center Configuration Manager | Yes | Yes | Yes – Windows 10 Desktop management from unified console | Yes | No |
| Offers integrated app store for both desktop and mobile app deployment | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No |
| Reporting | |||||||||||
| Product name(s) | VMware AirWatch Enterprise Mobility Management | BES12 | Citrix XenMobile | IBM MaaS360 | Landesk Management Suite 2016 + Landesk Mobile Security Suite 2016 | Enterprise Mobility Suite | MobileIron | SAP Mobile Secure | Sophos Mobile Control | MobiControl | Symantec Mobility: Suite |
| Alerts | Yes | Yes, compliance alerts | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Automated responses to alerts | Yes | Yes, automated actions for compliance alerts | Yes via syslog or API | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Automated, scheduled report delivery | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (for automated reports but no delivery mechanism) |
| Real-time dashboards | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Device-level analytics | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| App-level analytics | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
Further reading: Mobile management taks on apps, content.
