Mobile device management headaches solved and costs reduced for SA businesses

IT departments, ops managers, and finance divisions face daily challenges managing their fleet or network of mobile device assets. For operations with hundreds or even thousands of devices and sims to manage, combating run-away data and airtime spend can cost hundreds of thousands of Rands each month. In addition, technically supporting so many users adds a significant workload.

Device management specialist Mint Solutions has created an innovative solution that removes the device management headache for businesses. Danielle Afriat, CEO of Mint Solutions, explains, “We developed an integrated device-as-a-service solution that enables companies to deal with just one service provider to ensure management of costs, technical support and operational uptime.”

Mobile devices are playing an increasingly crucial role in shifting business operations from manual paper-based processes to automation. As consumer expectations continue to rise, mobile devices deliver greater operational efficiency and enable data-driven decisions. But it’s not as simple as contracting a device and data solution with a mobile network, according to Afriat.

“Managing mobile device assets is complex, especially when workforces are completely dependent on these devices to do their jobs. Giving company-owned mobile devices to a workforce and expecting them not to use it as a personal play tool can be a costly mistake. The risk of runaway data, airtime and device costs due to staff abuse or misuse is massive and it takes expertise to ensure 100% application uptime on a mobile device,” she says.

When users erroneously or intentionally turn off critical settings like GPS location or Wi-Fi, operations are interrupted, so the settings and applications on each device must be tightly controlled to ensure that the device is used as a single-purpose work tool.

Mobile device management (MDM) solutions can help, but there are over 250 on the market. Companies also need help to ensure the devices they buy have the right specs. When devices are procured at different intervals with different contract end dates, it becomes a nightmare to manage and support the fleet.

“There is no value in owning assets when technology is advancing at such a rapid rate so we offer device rentals, management and data solutions. Getting stuck in long-term rentals only exacerbates the issue. Most of our new clients cannot tell us how many devices they have across the business, what data packages each business division uses and needs, which user has each mobile device and when the contract ends. Finance departments struggle to reconcile data bills and manage the company’s assets. Using our expertise, businesses are saving between 20 - 40% of their telco spend and they are able to scale up or down as they are not tied to long-term contracts,” she adds.

The onset of Covid-19 forced more industries to automate their operations, which came with device and data management problems, especially for device-dependent sectors like security, medical response, service and supply chain and logistics. Some of Mint’s high-profile customers include Food Lover’s Market, Bidvest Group, Unitrans and BritelinkMCT.

Business partner provides support

Tabono, a boutique owner-run investment management business, is assisting Mint Solutions to secure additional funding through its established network and supporting the business to set up structures for further growth. 

Says Liran Assness, co-founder of Tabono. “Mint’s founders are exactly the kind of people we believe in and they are solving a particular and growing pain point for thousands of businesses. Mint exemplifies the kind of scalability many investors seek. We have immense confidence in the team's ability to capitalise on this potential and spearhead innovations in the mobility domain. Through international networks, we also see possibilities to scale the business beyond South Africa’s borders.”