Mobile Device Group Enrollment for Self-Service MDM Setup

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing mobile device management systems rely heavily on IT administrators, which is inefficient and expensive, especially for large organizations, and there is a need for a more autonomous and user-friendly method to set up and reset devices.

Innovation Solution

A mobile device management server maintains dynamically updated smart groups, allowing users to join or leave groups without administrative intervention, automatically configuring devices with appropriate applications and settings, and resetting devices based on user requests.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If IT administrators manually manage all mobile devices, then device control and security are maintained, but management efficiency and cost increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedevice management efficiencyVSAvoidtime for device setup and reset
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system enables users to autonomously enroll devices by selecting from displayed group options without requiring IT administrator intervention. The mobile device automatically receives and executes configuration commands based on group membership, performing self-service setup and reset operations that eliminate manual administrative handling while maintaining security through server-authenticated group policies.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

2Ease of operation

If users can independently set up devices without administrative intervention, then setup time is reduced, but device security and control may be compromised

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveuser independence in device setupVSAvoiddevice security and control
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The server acts as an intermediary that mediates between user autonomy and security requirements. It displays group options to users, authenticates device enrollment requests, and distributes configuration commands based on group membership. This intermediary role enables users to independently enroll devices while the server maintains security by controlling what configurations are applied through authenticated group policies.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Speed

If devices are automatically configured based on group membership, then setup speed increases, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedevice setup speedVSAvoidsystem architecture complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
SpeedVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by pre-defining groups with specific configuration commands and applications associated with each group. When a user enrolls a device, the device is automatically added to the selected group and receives pre-prepared configuration commands, enabling rapid setup without manual configuration. This preliminary organization of configurations by group accelerates device provisioning while managing complexity through structured group definitions.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP3871342B1Group-based mobile device management
Publication Date: 2026.04.08 JAMF SOFTWARE LLC
  • EP3871342B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3871342B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3871342B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A method includes sending, from a mobile device management (MDM) server, a group list to a mobile device, the group list indicating a plurality of MDM groups that are available to the mobile device for enrollment. The method also includes receiving, at the MDM server, a join group request from the mobile device. The join group request indicates a group of the plurality of MDM groups. The method also includes, in response to receiving the join group request, updating, at the MDM server, group membership data to indicate that the mobile device is added to the group. The method further includes identifying, based on the group membership data at the MDM server, an action associated with the group. The method also includes sending a command from the MDM server to the mobile device to perform the action.