Have a list of questions about Mobile Control

Question

Kind of in a rush so haven't been able to spend much time browsing if any of these have been answered. If someone could provide me with answers or where to look that would be great. It's an extensive list and thought it would be answered quickly here.

1.) What are the supported OS's and versions of Mobile Control?

2.) Are there any behavioural/functional differences between modesl of smartphones? (iOS, Andriod, BB)

3.) Can Mobile Control be managed in a way that doesn't utilize the AV?

- Asking because usually AV on smartphones eats battery life.

- If AV must be a part of the Mobile Control agent, how is battery life of the smartphone?

4.) Can Mobile Control Agents be installed and reinstalled remotely with ease?

5.) Do the agents understand between WIFI and Cellular Data ntwks?

- Asking because some users may have a very limited data cap

- Is there a policy to only download major/large updates when conntected via WIFI?

6.) How quick are policies applied?

7.) What is the default schedule of the Mobile Control Agent to contact the hosting server?

8.) Can other resellers of Sophos host their own Mobile Control servers and licensing?

- If so how are licenses purchased? (1 at a time and they last a year or 3 at a time?)

9.) Are there multi-level logins for user access?

- Admin vs. User?

- Is it possible to setup granular permissions to some users to allow for some Admin access? (Ex. User Bob can contral 3 smartphones but not others?)

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SDU · Accepted Answer

Hi WhatHappened,

let me try to answer your questions.

1.) What are the supported OS's and versions of Mobile Control?
Android, iOS, Windows Mobile, Windows Phone 8, limited Blackberry functionality. A full list of the supported operating systems can be found in the release notes.

2.) Are there any behavioural/functional differences between modesl of smartphones? (iOS, Andriod, BB)
Due to the nature of the different operating systems there are functional differences. A full feature matrix is available at the end of the technical guide.

3.) Can Mobile Control be managed in a way that doesn't utilize the AV?
Sophos Mobile Control can be purchased without Sophos Mobile Security for Android.
This an additional license you can purchase. If you do so, you can centrally manage the feature of the free Sophos Mobile Security application available for Android.

4.) Can Mobile Control Agents be installed and reinstalled remotely with ease?
It is possible to register a device remotely without any issues as long as you have a data connection available on your device.
Users can use also the Self Service Portal to reconfigure or synchronize their devices.

5.) Do the agents understand between WIFI and Cellular Data ntwks?
No they don't. If a data connectivity is available the SMC clients will use it.

6.) How quick are policies applied?
For Android a protocoll called Google Cloud Messaging (GCM) is used. If a profile is deployed to a device the SMC server will immediately send the request to the GCM server and the GCM server will then trigger the device to synchronize with the SMC server. The device then syncs with the server via HTTPS and the policy is applied.
It works the same way for iOS using a service called Apple Push Notification Service (APNs).

As long as the device can be contacted the deployment of new profiles takes only a few seconds.

7.) What is the default schedule of the Mobile Control Agent to contact the hosting server?
The devices will contact the SMC server by default every 24 hours but this is configurable.

8.) Can other resellers of Sophos host their own Mobile Control servers and licensing?
- If so how are licenses purchased? (1 at a time and they last a year or 3 at a time?)

Yes it is possible that other resellers host their own SMC server. They can purchase a license for one, two or 5 years.
At the moment for each Sophos Mobile Control server only one license is required. This license is a user license. A reseller can purchase a license for 100 users and then resell them to his customers. The number of licenses can be assigned for each SMC customer individually

9.) Are there multi-level logins for user access?

- Admin vs. User?

Yes there are different user roles: Admin, Helpdesk and Users.
Furthermore, you can use the Sophos Mobile Control Self Service Portal where uses can manage their devices on their own.

This is completely unrelated to the Sophos Mobile Control web console where all the managment is done.

- Is it possible to setup granular permissions to some users to allow for some Admin access? (Ex. User Bob can contral 3 smartphones but not others?)

This is currently not possible. If an administrator has access to a Sophos Mobile Control customer he has access to all devices.

Best regards

Stefan