Key points
- MSPs must offer managed device services covering enrollment, policy enforcement, patch management, monitoring, and security controls across all endpoint types.
- Effective device management requires MDM and RMM tools that support remote management across Apple, Android, Windows, and macOS devices.
- MSPs should define clear service scopes, tiered packages, and SLAs before onboarding clients to ensure consistent delivery.
- Zero-touch enrollment and automated configuration deployment allow MSPs to provision devices at scale without manual setup.
- Centralized monitoring, standardized workflows, and unified management are essential for maintaining security, compliance, and scalability across client environments.
Providing managed device services is increasingly an expectation for managed service providers (MSPs), rather than an optional add-on. To offer practical and effective managed IT services, a flexible mobile device management (MDM) platform that allows you to support multiple clients, securely and with separate environments and access controls, is a must.
This guide explains how you can leverage MDM to efficiently manage the device fleets for multiple clients as part of your MSP service offerings, while maintaining isolation and compliance.
Why MSPs must offer device management
The role of MSPs is to abstract the day-to-day operation of IT infrastructure and address the unique technical challenges each of their clients faces. This ranges from largely-standardized foundations like email hosting and network infrastructure, to industry- and business-specific solutions that ensure that tools and workflows are reliable and effective.
Cornerstone to this is device management: ensuring that all end-user devices, including phones, tablets, laptops, and workstations, are fit for purpose with ongoing oversight and control. Without this, device performance can degrade, security can be compromised, and compliance can be affected.
Device management that covers endpoints and not just infrastructure is no longer just an opportunity for MSPs to provide another revenue-generating service; it’s an expectation.
What MSP device management services should include
Device management should include the following elements:
- Device enrollment and provisioning
- Policy configuration and enforcement
- Patch and update management
- Monitoring and alerting
- Security controls and compliance
Ideally, these will all be provided through a unified IT platform that allows you to keep your MSP’s client environments isolated, whilst consolidating tools for efficiency.
How to add device management services to your MSP offering
Implementing device management without planning can lead to gaps, inconsistent workflows, and may drag down IT operations. Offering effective device management that both reduces your workload and enhances your clients’ devices’ reliability and security requires a structured approach and the right tools.
1. Define device management service scope and develop service packages
Decide exactly what you will manage for your clients, and assess the resources that will need to be allocated to do so that pricing can be aligned.
For example, some clients may only want to ensure that devices are patched and compliant, while others may want you to manage deployed apps or other unique aspects. These may include locking down devices for public use, or employing additional monitoring to ensure mission-critical devices like mobile EPOS terminals are always available.
Clearly define and document deliverables and service level agreements (SLAs) so that clients are clear on what service they will receive.
2. Select device management tools
Choose tools that will be able to remotely manage the devices your clients use (including mobile Apple, Android, Windows, and macOS devices), and ensure that they support secure management over the internet if it’s needed, as this is an increasingly common requirement with remote work and BYOD.
If you will be managing both endpoints and infrastructure, both MDM and remote monitoring and management (RMM) tools may be necessary. Many leading platforms unify and automate these tools.
3. Operationalize device management services
Once services and tools have been decided on, you can begin to operationalize by creating standardized base configurations and testing deployment. Once consistent, secure baseline device policies have been established, you can tweak them per-client to meet their requirements and create templates to streamline future deployments.
Security best practices, including enacting least-privilege access controls, should also be recognized so that client environments are isolated and access is strictly controlled.
4. Build automated onboarding workflows
Zero-touch enrollment with MDM platforms configures end-user devices out of the box, meaning your team doesn’t have to waste resources unboxing, setting up, and then shipping out devices to users. Once enrolled, MDM can be used to automatically deploy consistent configurations and app stacks, and ensure all software is patched and that compliance requirements are met.
Onboarding checklists should be used to ensure each new user and their devices are fully configured, and exception registers should be maintained for edge-cases.
5. Establish monitoring processes and consistent reporting
Ongoing monitoring maintains visibility and helps you keep a proactive security posture for your clients.
Active, continuous monitoring can be included in service tiers so that issues can be preemptively addressed. This requires additional resources and can be an opportunity for upsell, and also helps smooth out service bottlenecks by helping avoid issues from building up.
Reports summarize key information collected from these processes, and help to ensure accountability, while providing valuable insights for your clients.
Make your MSP stand out with managed device services as part of comprehensive IT management
Managed IT services should cover every aspect of your clients’ digital operations: from on-premises networking and servers, to cloud infrastructure and SaaS, to end-user devices. All the monitoring and management processes should be centralized and documented, so that they can be demonstrated to clients to solidify trust and attract new customers to your MSP.
NinjaOne unifies MDM, RMM, documentation, helpdesk, and remote support into a single platform with robust security controls and integration with cybersecurity platforms. This allows you to offer managed device services with levels of support that meet your clients’ evolving requirements, and fully recognize the recurring revenue opportunities expanding device management presents.
