Cloud MDM vs. On-Premises MDM

Choosing the right mobile device management (MDM) solution can make or break operations for IT teams and managed service providers (MSPs). Cloud vs. on-premises MDM is one of the key factors that you need to consider when making the decision, as it greatly affects functionality, security, costs, and critically, scalability.

This guide helps you understand the advantages and disadvantages of cloud and on-premises MDM platforms so that you can make the right decision for your business, and ensure operational efficiency and seamless management of remote devices, security, and compliance.

What is MDM?

MDM is a category of IT management software that lets you remotely provision, configure, secure, and troubleshoot mobile devices, including tablets, phones, and laptops. It is provided both as a standalone product and as part of unified endpoint management (UEM) and IT management platforms.

The core features of MDM include:

• Deployment and inventory tracking: MDM that integrates with vendors’ zero-touch deployment tools lets you ship devices directly to end users. They will then enroll themselves with your MDM and inventory when they are first used.
• Configuration and security policies: Once enrolled in MDM, devices can remotely receive configurations and security policies (like enforcing biometric authentication) that can be further managed remotely.
• Application management, updates, and patching: Manage which apps are installed for different users and groups, deploy software updates, and ensure patch compliance.
• Remote monitoring and diagnostics: While direct remote control of devices is often a separate product, MDM includes tools to monitor and collect data for troubleshooting.
• Protecting data on lost, stolen, and obsolete devices: Lost devices can be remotely locked (and unlocked when they are found) while stolen, and obsolete devices can be securely wiped to ensure data on them is not leaked.

The availability, application, and flexibility of these features are affected by whether the MDM is a managed service in the cloud, or hosted on your own on-premises infrastructure.

Cloud MDM vs. on-premises MDM: Pros and Cons

On-premises MDM is hosted on your own infrastructure within your own network. You install the MDM software on your server, and from there are responsible for the operation and security of all aspects of the system.

Cloud-based MDM is a managed service that provides you with MDM that you sign up for online, and do not need to run your own server for. Operations, including maintenance and security, are handled entirely by the vendor. Your responsibility is to maintain the configuration of your tenant and the connected devices, not the underlying platform. This is usually undertaken within a shared responsibility model similar to other managed services like Microsoft 365.

While a more ‘modern’ approach to MDM (and much more resource and cost-efficient), cloud-hosted platforms do not entirely supplant on-premises solutions that have several advantages for use cases where complete isolation is required for security and compliance reasons.

Cloud MDM advantages

Cloud-based MDM platforms provide clear advantages for most businesses, including minimal initial setup with secure defaults, rapid deployment to devices, and in some cases, remote access that works from anywhere. Upfront costs are typically much lower (as there is no infrastructure and a minimal setup time required), and the service and subscription-based pricing scale with your device count.

Cloud MDM limitations

However, these advantages come with some trade-offs that make cloud-based MDM unsuitable for some use cases. You have less control over the infrastructure, and whether it is shared. Subscription costs can also add up – though this must be compared with the ongoing costs of maintaining on-premises deployments.

The primary concern cloud MDM presents is compliance: some regulations strictly enforce how and where data can be stored and accessed, especially in the shared environments managed cloud services operate in.

On-premises MDM advantages

On-premises MDM comes with additional overheads, but they can be a necessary burden for greater control in industries with strict security and isolation requirements. With full control (and responsibility) of the underlying infrastructure, you can be fully aware of any potential security threat.

This, combined with greater customizability, makes it suitable for highly regulated environments. It’s worth noting that there are cloud-based MDM solutions that are compliant with strict US government data protection measures, including FedRAMP.

On-premises MDM limitations

While the limitations of on-premises MDM can be solved with additional infrastructure and configuration, it can add significant complexity to your IT operations. Higher setup, maintenance, and operational costs, clunky deployment, and limited scalability are the primary limitations of on-premises MDM. Generally, on-premises MDM is compromised functionally due to the nature of the problem MDM solves: it’s for mobile devices, so an internet-based solution offers inherent advantages.

Cloud MDM security advantages and risks

While security is hugely reliant on implementation (i.e., your configurations and in-house practices), Cloud-hosted MDM reduces the surface area your team needs to cover by abstracting the underlying infrastructure, maintenance, security patching, scanning, and remediation tasks.

This is potentially more secure, provided your MDM platform is competent, transparent, and follows industry-standard practices for securing the infrastructure they use to provide MDM to you. This may seem counterintuitive, however if you do not have your own in-house security team, on-premises deployments are not fundamentally more secure than cloud services.

The biggest risk is your own implementation and processes: weak passwords, account sharing, overly-permissive access, misconfiguration, and other poor security practices leave you open to cybersecurity and social engineering threats that can compromise accounts on MDM platforms, leading to further intrusion and breaches.

Choose a cloud MDM platform with transparent disclosure, SLAs, built-in compliance features, and responsive support channels, as well as support for technical measures like multifactor authentication, audit logging, and strong identity and access management.

Cost comparison: Cloud vs. on-premises MDM

Direct cost comparison of key IT support systems like MDM is difficult to make: certain features are far more valuable to some organizations than they are to others. However, when making your assessment, consider that there can be significant upfront costs of infrastructure for on-premises MDM solutions, as well as ongoing costs for maintenance, security, and keeping technicians trained.

While there are ongoing subscription fees for cloud MDM, it is predictable and scales evenly. However, you need to be mindful of the billing structure (per user, per device, per support agent seat, etc.) to avoid unexpected costs.

MDM for MSPs that manage multiple clients

Cloud-hosted MDM is most suitable for MSPs managing multiple clients with their own networks, providing isolated environments that allow devices from multiple organizations to be centrally managed, without cross-contamination.

When to choose cloud MDM vs. on-premises MDM

Cloud MDM is appropriate for organizations of any size, and allows devices to be managed for remote teams (including BYOD) and organizations with distributed worksites. It reduces the need for infrastructure and allows for rapid, streamlined deployment. This allows small organizations to implement MDM without additional infrastructure and while keeping a small team, and for large organizations to operate efficiently.

Choose on-premises MDM when you have a large organization with the internal IT resources to support it, and data control or compliance requirements that necessitate the additional complexity.

It is possible to realize some of the benefits of cloud-based MDM when using self-hosted solutions. Depending on why on-premises was chosen, you may be able to share inventory, monitoring, and diagnostic data that does not contain sensitive information or grant access to internal resources with centralized reporting platforms, allowing for centralized oversight and notifications, while meeting regulatory requirements.

The advantages of cloud MDM are enhanced when it’s part of a complete IT platform

IT teams and MSPs need more than just MDM to effectively support and secure all the devices they are responsible for. Remote monitoring and management is required to manage workstations and servers, monitoring is required to oversee network security and performance, and helpdesk and documentation are necessities for helping end users (and helping them help themselves). Operational complexity is reduced and workflows are streamlined when these tools are unified – resulting in a proactive stance to resolving problems, and faster ticket resolution times.

NinjaOne brings together a complete IT and MSP toolchain containing all of these tools, with additional features including remote backup, patch and vulnerability management, as well as MDM integration with Intune, Apple Business Manager, and Android Enterprise.