Google’s “Android Enterprise Essentials” program is aimed at SMEs



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The growing adoption of Android devices by businesses is a long-standing initiative for Google. The company now offers its own mobile management service with Android Enterprise Essentials for small and medium businesses.

Google wants to provide SMBs with an easy way to protect managed devices and company data. Key aspects, derived from the comprehensive Android Enterprise offering for large organizations, include:

  • Require lock screen and encryption on devices to prevent unauthorized access to company data.
  • Enforce mandatory malware protection by ensuring that Google Play Protect is always on and that employees cannot download apps outside of the Google Play Store.
  • Provide the ability to erase all company data from a device in the event of loss or theft.

In inception, Google focused on a “critical set of default features designed for businesses with simpler needs and smaller budgets.” This comes as SMBs are “increasingly the target of malicious attackers and may be required by local laws to protect company data.”

And with more business and customer data residing on mobile devices, a lost or stolen phone can create a major incident that can have a big and lasting impact on your business.

Despite this increase, these organizations are reluctant to invest in what they perceive to be complex and expensive solutions. In terms of configuration, Android Enterprise Essentials automatically applies these basic security principles:

These basic features are applied automatically, so there is nothing to configure for users and no in-depth management or training is required. Organizations can simply buy devices and ship or hand them over to employees who already have persistent policies in place.

Google also positions the program for “large organizations that want to extend basic protections to devices that may not need advanced device management.” It is worth noting that the company offers its own solution as there are a number of existing EMMs that take the features built into Android and provide a managed solution. Google potentially gets an interesting source of income here.

Android Enterprise Essentials is first rolled out in the US and UK through third-party distributors before expanding worldwide “early next year”.

Essentials can also serve as a starting point for customers who want to try simple management first, and possibly upgrade to more sophisticated management in the future.

Learn more about Android Enterprise:

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