managed mobility services (MMS)

Managed mobility services (MMS) is the procurement, deployment and management of the devices an organization's mobile and remote employees use to ensure compliance with the enterprise environment.

A managed mobility services provider (MMSP) eases the burden on enterprise IT departments by dealing with the complexity of managing multiple device platforms. MMS enables communications with mobile office workers and allows them to interact with resources that have traditionally been only accessible for PC users, such as databases, business email and other corporate content. To do so, an MMS server delivers the interpreted content to specialized mobile apps.

MMS is often confused with the somewhat similar MWM (mobile workforce management) and the terms are sometimes used interchangeably. However, MMS focuses on connecting mobile out-of-office workers to servers, databases, management and other employees. MWM vendors, on the other hand, generally provide the devices as well as software and services and the focus is more on field-based workers, such as utility employees.  

Mobile device management (MDM), another similar term and concept that is sometimes confused with the other two, is the administrative area dealing with deploying, securing, monitoring, integrating and managing mobile devices, such as smartphones, tablets and laptops, in the workplace.  MDM is a component of MMS.