GuideWireless & IoT · 6 min
What does a full managed mobility service include?
Full managed mobility runs every device from the box to the help desk: staging, kitting, shipping, activation, management, repairs, returns and the bill.
The Clectiv team ·
Every device, from the box to the help desk. Managed mobility is someone else running your phones and tablets across their whole life, so your IT team isn't doing it by hand. "Full" has no standard meaning, so here's what to look for.
What does "full" managed mobility cover?#
"Full" covers every stage a device goes through. There's no standard list, so each provider decides what's in its package.
| Stage | What happens |
|---|---|
| Ordering | Phones and tablets are bought and tracked as they arrive. |
| Staging and kitting | Each device is set up, then boxed with its charger and label. |
| Accessories | Cases, screen protectors and spare chargers go out with each device. |
| Shipping and activation | The kit reaches the person or site, and the line is turned on. |
| Device management | MDM (mobile device management) software pushes updates and security rules, and wipes lost phones. |
| Help desk | Your people call someone else when a phone breaks. |
| Repairs and returns | Broken devices are fixed or swapped, and old ones come back to be recycled. |
| The bill | Every invoice is audited, so waste doesn't creep back. |
"Full" is only as good as the list behind it. One provider's full might stop at the help desk. Another's might include accessories and recycling.
Check the edges of the list: accessories, returns, recycling and shipping to other countries. Ask whether each one is in the price.
Before you call anyone#
Walk every device through Clectiv AI, from the box to the help desk, before any mobility provider tells you what "full" means. Then Clectiv AI runs the process, the providers that fit compete with bids of their own, and you choose. Call one first and "full" means whatever its package happens to include.
Should one provider run it, or two?#
Some providers can do both, and the proposals show which. Staging is physical work: a warehouse, stock and shipping. Management is software and a help desk. They're different skills, so some providers split them.
- One provider means one contract, and one place to call when something goes wrong.
- Two providers means each does one job, with a handoff in the middle.
Where one provider can't do both, the plan splits the work cleanly between two.
Ask who owns the handoff. A phone that arrives broken, or won't enroll in MDM, belongs to someone. Know who before the first box ships.
BYOD changes the shape of the work. BYOD (bring your own device) means people use their own phones. Those skip staging and shipping, but they still need enrollment, security rules and a help desk.
Count company-owned and BYOD devices separately with Clectiv AI, and every proposal prices both.
Tangoe sells managed mobility, including provisioning, a help desk, and repair and recycling. Granite sells mobility and expense management. All of them are wireless and IoT providers we work with, and Clectiv AI runs the process for you: start a project.
That's a road we've traveled. Clectiv AI runs the process we've run for other customers, so you start where they finished. It takes the plan straight to these providers for the best pricing, terms and contract we can get.
How is managed mobility priced?#
By the device, by the event, or by the bill. The unit a provider uses tells you what you're really paying for.
| Unit | What you're counting | Check |
|---|---|---|
| Per device, per month | Every device under management | Does a BYOD phone cost the same as a company-owned one? |
| Per event | Each device staged, shipped or repaired | What counts as one repair? |
| Share of the bill | The spend under audit | What happens to the price as your bill shrinks? |
Quotes in different units don't compare until they're turned into the same count of devices and events. The plan does that, so every proposal prices the same fleet.
The number moves with the stages in scope, your device count, how many countries you ship to, and help desk hours and languages. Setup fees, minimums and term move it too.
Common questions#
What is staging and kitting?#
What does mobile device management do?#
Who handles a broken or lost phone?#
How is managed mobility priced?#
What's the difference between managed mobility and expense management?#
How does Clectiv AI get this done?#
Begin in Clectiv AI. Tell it how many devices you have, who owns them and where they go. It scopes the project with you and writes your plan: what devices are out there, whether they're company-owned or BYOD, who manages them, and what the rollout looks like.
Then the Clectiv team takes your plan to the mobility providers that fit, all at once, through our partner network of 620+ providers. The bids come back side by side as the providers compete, the team pushes on terms, and you choose.
Others finished what you're starting. Clectiv AI runs the process we built with them, so you start where they ended up. The plan reaches the providers that fit directly, for the best pricing, terms and contract we can get.
It's free to you, and you have answers in days, not months. Everything we cover in wireless and IoT is on the wireless and IoT page.
Phones on more than one carrier? Read how to manage multiple mobile carriers.
Sources and method. No prices appear in this guide. Pricing units describe how managed mobility is commonly sold, not any one provider's terms. Provider names are examples of who sells managed mobility and expense management, from Clectiv's provider directory, not a ranking.