Mobile Device Management

All Apple iOS MDM providers use the same method for managing iOS devices, an XML document called the configuration profile with iOS MDM management. That XML spec is defined by Apple. The iOS MDM specification is allowed by request to Apple. Because of this, all MDM providers will provide basically the same basic features. It's also important to note the (somewhat severe) limits of the configuration profile-based management:

• Root configuration profile can be removed by the user
• Device may be erased using iTunes
• No OTA OS updates
• Free and Paid apps cannot be pushed from the MDM Server (iOS 4 supports OTA in-house distribution)
• No screen sharing to the device
• No "Find my iPhone" functionality through MDM (For example, locate and alert sound )

So how will MDM providers differentiate themselves? That's an interesting question explored in the sections below, starting with the Comparison of MDM Providers. For example, they could differentiate client agent feature, easy enrollment, enterprise integration, rule based policy changes, app life cycle management or scalability.

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Requirements

In order to utilize MDM capabilities built-in to iOS 4, enterprises need to create push notification certificate from Apple. (visit identity.apple.com/pushcert and sign in with a verified Apple ID. refer: http://www.apple.com/iphone/business/it-center/deployment-mdm.html for detail)

If you are only implementing SCEP and MDM configuration management, iOS Developer Enterprise Program is not required. To build company app distribution over-the-air using enterprise appstore, your organization must enroll in the iOS Developer Enterprise Program (iDEP) iOS Developer Program. See Apple IOS Enterprise Developer Program Overview for requirements. The regular iOS Developer Program is for publishing apps to the iTunes App Store.