Item: IBM MaaS360
Rating: 5
Author: Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with IBM MaaS360

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use MaaS360 specifically for iOS mobile device management. The most useful features for us are security profiles and device location checking. It includes many other features such as update management, app deployment, and remote wiping. We are able to link MaaS360 to our Apple device enrollment program account so devices purchased from Apple automatically get added.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Security profiles - apply settings templates to devices rather than manually configuring
App deployment - select apps to automatically be deployed on a device
Device inventory - maintain list of hardware information and associate it with enterprise users

Cons

Remote wiping - Even when properly configured, remote wiping of company owned devices is not always successful. In these cases, a case must be opened directly with Apple (not IBM) to prove ownership of the device and wipe it.
Poor performing website - Using the web interface for MaaS360 can be frustrating, and some pages don't load or submit changes without reloading and starting over.
Not intuitive design - MaaS360 inherently deals with complicated concepts, but the service interface could be much more straightforward. Training and tutorials are pretty much required for any task.

Return on Investment

Time saved by allowing IT to deploy settings templates rather than manually configuring devices.
Consistency of mobile devices improved by ensuring all devices get configured the same.
Prevents unwanted settings changes to mobile devices.
Time wasted wrestling with website interface.
Time wasted by service failing to deliver some of its features.

Alternatives Considered

Jamf Now

Apple tends to recommend Jamf for mobile device management. We chose to use IBM MaaS360 since it can be bundled with our cell carrier's contract. This gives us a lower cost product that delivers the features we needed out of this type of service. Additionally, our carrier is able to automatically add devices purchased through them to our IBM MaaS360 account, which saves a little bit of time for us.

We have never used Jamf, but looking back it seems like it might have been a better choice. When our contract with IBM MaaS360 comes close to ending, we will more closely evaluate alternatives.

Likelihood to Recommend

IBM MaaS360 is a powerful tool, and it is capable of providing mobile device management for most types of devices, including Windows computers, Apple computers, Windows phones, Android phones, and Apple phones. Security profile templates can be set up per device type or per employee type, allowing detailed granular control over settings and services on each end user device.

Unfortunately, MaaS360 is difficult to use and can be very frustrating. The biggest frustration by far is that remote wiping sometimes fails. In cases where an end user signs into iCloud on an Apple device, their password is required before the device can be used again. Remote wiping should bypass this, but only if it works. When remote wiping fails, the only way to use the device again is by filing a case with Apple and proving company ownership, a process which can take weeks and requires time and effort.

Comments

Please log in to join the conversation

MaaS360 - Powerful, but requires training.