MDM for POS Systems: Features, Security, and Hardware

If you’re looking for an MDM to manage your devices — digital signage, kiosks, point of sale systems (POS), tablets, and more — not just any off the shelf option will work. Devices designed for specific needs require specific management features, so if you want to get the most mileage out of your device fleet, picking the right MDM is crucial.

A secure, hardened kiosk mode

If you’re running kiosks, then you know kiosk mode is important. But it’s equally important for POS systems, digital signage, or any other device with a single use. Not all kiosk modes are created equal, either, so you need one that’s secure and virtually impenetrable.

What does that mean? It means that bypassing the locked app is nearly impossible. Many kiosk solutions have workarounds, so you want one that offers robust security that’s hard to bypass. The best MDM solutions will not only offer kiosk mode, but have features in place that prevent it from being bypassed.

Remote control and debugging

Regardless of what kind of devices you’re using, the ability to access, control, and debug them remotely isn’t just convenient — it’s necessary. Who wants to fly across the country to debug tablets? Not you. That’s why choosing an MDM with full remote control capabilities — whether you want to control the device as if you’re standing in front of it or you need to access device logs and other details — is a must.

You’ll also want to make sure any remote access is completely secure and fully encrypted — whether you simply need to replicate a series of touches or you need to get full ADB access with something like Secure Remote ADB. The days of hopping on a flight to work on a device are over.

Device monitoring and telemetry

So, what’s really going on with that buggy kiosk? Are all your POS systems online? When’s the last time your digital signage was rebooted? Are all your tablets plugged in? With advanced device monitoring and telemetry, you never have to wonder again. You should be able to find out what all your devices are doing, where they are, and a lot more.

This should also include all the details you need to know about your hardware. Whether you need to know how much storage a tablet has, what type of processor your kiosk is running, if your signage is running on battery power, or anything else, this info should be readily accessible and all in a single location.

Automated deployment tools for apps and content

The odds are you’ll need to update or change the apps on your devices at some point, even if that means pushing a newer version of an existing application. While there are multiple ways to do this, automating the process is by far the simplest and least invasive way. You don’t want to update a mission critical application during peak use, but forcing the IT team to wake up in the middle of the night to push an update after hours isn’t ideal, either.

That’s where automated deployment for apps, updates, and content comes in. Any device management solution you choose should offer a way to not only schedule app or content updates, but also allow you to roll them out in stages. After all, why would you want to test an app on every device across your entire company at one time? Look for a solution that offers full control of app updates (or new installs) and content rollouts — you should be able to schedule when the update starts and which devices get it at the very least.

No touch provisioning and setup

Deploying new hardware (or repurposing existing hardware) can be a challenge no matter what. It often requires a team of people to either provision and set up devices and then ship them to the final location or set everything up on site. Neither situation is ideal, because they both require significant time and monetary investment. But there’s a better way: automated provisioning and setup.

Imagine a scenario where the only thing you have to do is build a template for how a device should set up and function, and that device does the rest for you when it boots up. That’s not a futuristic or unattainable scenario by any means — in fact, it’s something you should look for when choosing a management system for your devices. You should look for a solution that allows you to pre-configure devices for automated setup — as soon as they connect to Wi-Fi, everything should just work.

You need more than an MDM

Your device fleet is at the forefront of your customer and employee experience, so you need powerful tools to manage these mission critical devices. That’s why Esper is more than an MDM — we have everything you need to manage your device with more control, security, and automation than ever before. Give us a try for free today.

Secure POS Device Management