Mobile Device Mayhem: How To Profit from the Mobility Boom Without Selling Hardware
February 24, 2025
By Graeme Scott, VP of Advanced Networking & Mobility, Telarus
As VP of Advanced Networking and Mobility for Telarus, I do my best to talk to as many of our technology advisors as possible. Whether discussing a specific deal, sales strategy, or just finding out what is going on, I always learn something—and love the insights and value our technology advisors bring to their business.
Each month, I’m consistently surprised to learn more advisors aren’t selling mobility services. This is despite the fact that 100% of end-user customers are already using mobile services. Mobile transformation is impacting all aspects of our lives and businesses. Considering this, it should be a topic that advisors bring up frequently.
Why Technology Advisors Shy Away from Mobility
As it turns out, there is one simple reason why some of our advisors avoid discussing mobility: It’s a hassle. Simply put, many technology advisors don’t want to sell mobility because they don’t want to support it.
Some advisors feel that mobility is complicated and resource intensive. Carriers can be challenging to deal with, and so are end-user customers. Technology advisors don’t want to field calls late at night when a customer has a security breach or loses a phone out in the world.
Here’s some good news, though. The Telarus portfolio has tons of services that allow you to profit from the mobility boom, without the hassle. In this post, we’ll explore a few of these options.
Before I dive into these, a quick caveat: I am fully in favor of an enterprising advisor selling both devices and these services. This post is for advisors who are looking for a less involved approach.
The Easy Way to Sell Mobility
To start, let’s take a look at some industry statistics courtesy of our friends at Wireless Watchdogs.
For those of you who are still uncertain there is an opportunity, here is what each of these trends say to me:
We know that 100% of our customers use mobile services. Yet almost half (42%) of businesses consider themselves “mobile first.” Need.
With 90% of companies deploying bring your own device (BYOD), the services we are about to dive into offer massive value. Need.
Security is a top concern, with employees using mobile devices to access sensitive data and apps. Need.
Companies lack the resources to effectively manage mobile devices. Pain.
Any time we see a need combined with pain, that means there is an opportunity at hand.
So, now that we have established some clear opportunities, let’s dive into some of the services and solutions that you can leverage to start selling mobility and driving profits.
Wireless expense management (WEMS) is the task of monitoring and optimizing organizational spend on a monthly basis. Organizations often spend more than they should with carriers, and a WEMS provider will right-size individual plans with usage and monitor them monthly to ensure it stays that way. Most organizations save between 15-20% with WEMS services. This is one of the easier sales in the industry, as all it takes is a recent billing statement from the customer, which is analyzed with the WEMS supplier and quickly turned around with a cost/benefit analysis. With an LOA, the WEMS supplier will then right-size all the plans within the organization and take overpaying each individual wireless supplier monthly. The customer not only receives the benefit of a lower monthly spend but also pays one invoice per month to the WEMS supplier. This is of value to customers with multiple carriers. Value and savings really start to add up for customers with 100 devices or more, but some companies see value in just handing off the process.
Mobile device management (MDM) refers to software and tools that enable organizations to securely manage and control devices like smartphones, tablets, laptops, and other endpoints. MDM solutions like Microsoft InTune allow IT administrators to oversee device configurations, enforce security policies, and ensure compliance with organizational and regulatory requirements. For large organizations, this is often a function of the IT department, but as we established above, all organizations are stretched thin in this regard.
MDM includes some or all the following:
Device security – remote wipe and lock for lost or stolen services, encryption and secure date access and protection against malware.
Policy enforcement – password requirements, screen locks, as well restriction of applications, and websites.
Device monitoring – real time tracking of usage and status as well and monitoring for device compliance.
App and data management – centralized deployment of business-critical applications, and secure access to data.
Remote support and troubleshooting – tools allow remote configurations, settings updates etc. without physical access to device.
Considering these features, it is easy to see the value MDM provides to an organization, and how trying to implement and manage these services internally may be burdensome for IT teams. Customers are always looking for a way to streamline management and operations. Within the Telarus portfolio, we have several companies that will manage this entire process, bringing a level of expertise and efficiency most organizations can’t get on their own.
Mobile device as a service (MDaaS) is where a company will outsource some, or all aspects of its mobility support to an outside organization. MDaaS typically includes the following:
Staging and kitting – ensuring devices are probably set up and ready for use when sending to employees, including set up of MDM and other company applications.
Tier 1 support – basic break fix, requesting replacement devices, and IT troubleshooting requests such as lost password and other user challenges.
WEMS – as explained above, this is management of all wireless expenses and can be part of a MDaaS.
MDM – also mentioned above, an MDaaS solution can include deployment and management of MDM tools and services.
Device procurement – this includes procurement of devices in use within the company. An organization can determine a standard issue device and the MDaaS will ensure those devices are stocked and ready to go.
Full service – some, but not all MDaaS suppliers will even act as the carrier. MetTel, for example, will procure devices and put in their MetTel sim cards info the device, eliminating the need for an organization to work with the carriers at all. This can be either via a single carrier sim, or a multi-carrier one that has all carriers.
MDaaS is a great option for organizations that just don’t want to deal with mobility, or don’t have the staff or expertise to handle certain elements.
Packages are customizable with lots of flexibility. It is important to note that organizations typically don’t see a need for this service until they have 100 devices or more, although there are exceptions. Telarus technology advisors have sold some very lucrative deals involving MDaaS, with some billing well into six figures on a monthly basis!
A Word on BYOD
As stated above, BYOD is now a common practice that involves letting employees use their own personal cell phone for business use. Organizations that don’t want the hassle or costs of managing mobile devices will give their employees a stipend.
Although convenient, this can be a very problematic approach for two main reasons:
First, allowing an uncontrolled device onto a corporate network and granting it access to corporate data and applications will add an additional element of risk. 74% of global enterprises have experienced a security breach due to mobile devices. In fact, this is so prevalent that many cybersecurity insurance policies have been amended to ensure that companies adopt the same security measures for mobile devices that they use for laptops and desktops. A breach from a mobile device can now potentially void a cyber insurance claim. When you have an employee bring their own device to the network, you have no control over where that device has been, and what has been done to it. Mobile device management (MDM) at the very least is something all organizations should require for all devices on their network.
Secondly, companies must consider life after their employees move on. This is particularly true for organizations where employees interact with customers via their mobile devices. When employees control their own devices, everything on their device leaves when they exit the company. That can include valuable emails, contact information, texts, and customer details— not to mention, proprietary corporate information. Every organization should make it a point to protect their data and have a system in place to restrict access when employees exit.
Start Selling Mobility Today
Mobility is booming, with devices becoming faster, smarter, and more powerful with each passing year. For as many devices as there are globally today, that is expected to double in the next few years. For technology advisors, this is a can’t-miss opportunity.
As you can see, there are many different ways we can help customers navigate the waters of mobility. The tips in this blog can help position any business for success by reducing risk, improving cost efficiencies, and making mobility easier to adopt. The opportunity is clear, and as a technology advisor, you have Telarus by your side ready to help you as you engage in these types of conversations. We got you!
