WSO2 EMM enables you to register mobile devices via the BYOD or COPE device enrollment scenario. Data containerization allows you to have a separation between data. Therefore, if you are registering your device via the BYOD scenario you are able to have a clear separation between your personal data and the enterprise data. To understand the underlying concept clearly, take a look at the example given below.
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MobX uses WSO2 EMM to manage and monitor the employees mobile devices and applications. Kim joins as the new marketing Manager and needs to register her personal mobile device with WSO2 EMM, but she is concerned because she doesn't want to expose the personal data on the device to the Organization. On the other hand, MobX is concerned about not letting the other applications installed in Kim's device to access the confidential enterprise data. For example, Kim has installed an application for enterprise docs on her device. This application has access to all the enterprise docs and the personal docs as they are all stored in the same location. Therefore, it is important to clearly separate the enterprise and personal data in a BYOD device enrollment scenario. Follow the steps given below to enable data containerization on your device.
Enabling data containerization
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You need to have an Android device that supports the Lollipop OS version or upwards.
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The following subsections will provide details on how data containerization is achieved via the managed-profile feature.
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Setting up the work profile
Data containerization for Android devices was implemented using the Managed Profile feature
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that is available
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on the Android devices that
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support the Android Lollipop OS
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or upwards.
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To begin the device registration process open the registration email you received using your mobile and click on the URL provided. The EMM Agent application will download to your mobile device.
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You will receive the registration email once the administrator invites you to register with EMM. |
Follow the instructions given below to register an Android device once the EMM agent application downloads:
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Open the downloaded file, and tap INSTALL.
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Tap Set Work-Profile to proceed with registering the Android device with data containerization.
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Missing step and screenshot: Uninstall the agent.
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Enter the server address based on your environment, in the text box provided. A confirmation message will appear.
- Developer Environment - Enter the server IP as your server address.
Example: 10.10.10.123:9443 Deployment Environment - Enter the domain as your server address.
Note The Android Agent app's default port is 80. If you are using any other port or using port offset in EMM, the server address should state the new port in the following format:
www.abc.com:<PORT>
For example, if the port offset is 1 and you are using the 9763 port, the port will change to 9764. Therefore, in such a scenario an example server IP is as follows: 110.100.7.123:9764
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- Username - Enter the username provided in the email.
- Password - Enter the password provided in the email.
- Domain - Enter the domain only if the server is hosted with multi-tenant support.
- Ownership type - Select the corresponding device ownership option. This will customize the EMM behavior accordingly.
- BYOD - Bring your own device.
- COPE - Corporate owned personally enabled.
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If you select BYOD go to step 7 - You will be shown a policy agreement, which you can either accept or reject.
Info You will get access to EMM only if you accept the policy agreement.
- If you select COPE go to step 10 - As its a corporate owned device, you will not be shown a policy agreement. You will have to adhere to the company policy.
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Set a PIN code of your choice with a minimum of 4 digits. The PIN code will be used to secure your personal data. Thereby, the EMM server will not be able to carryout critical operations on your personal data without using this PIN.
Example: If the EMM admin needs to wipe your device or remove date from the device, he/she can not directly wipe it without the PIN code. You have to provide the PIN code to get your device wiped or you can log into the EMM Console and wipe your device by entering the PIN code. A confirmation message will appear.
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You will be prompted to provide a PIN code only if your device is a BYOD device. |
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Let's take a look at the how data containerization works on WSO2 EMM.
- When you download and install the Android Agent on your Android mobile device, the agent will check if the device supports the managed profile feature.
If the device supports the managed profile feature, the agent will prompt the user to set up the work profile before the installation.
Info Having the Android Lollipop OS version or above will not enable you to set up the work profile. The setup might fail because of the OS customizations that would have been done on some of the devices by the manufacturers.
Example: The managed-profile doesn't work as expected on Asus Zenfone 2 device that supports Android Lollipop.
- Once the profile is set up, the EMM Agent is automatically copied into the new work profile. Therefore, WSO2 EMM will prompt you to uninstall the agent you downloaded previously as it was installed in the devices personal profile.
After setting up the work profile you need to follow the default steps to register an Android device with WSO2 EMM.
Once the registration process is completed, navigate to the launcher of the device and you will be able to see the application that are used by the worker profile and the personal profile. The applications having the red icon are used by the WSO2 EMM work profile.
Info - Using this approach, you don't have to switch between the personal profile and work profile as all the applications used by each profile is shown in the same launcher.
- Based on the underlying architecture, the profiles have their own storage locations that can not be accessed by each other.
Applying Android device operations
After registering your device with WSO2 EMM you can apply operations on a device.
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The EMM agent is the profile owner of the newly created work profile and only has control over it. Therefore, now the agent is unable to perform operations that affect the entire device, such as changing the device PIN and wiping data of the entire device.
If your Organization has imposed a policy to restrict the usage of the camera, you will not be able to use the camera application that is installed in the work profile. You will only be allowed to used the camera application that is installed in your personal profile.
The enterprise wipe operation will delete the enterprise related data along with the work profile on your device while keeping the personal data intact.