Real-time device management has arrived: Meet MaaS360 Smart Device Groups
Eliminate the delays and security gaps inherent in static mobile device management.
IBM MaaS360 Smart Device Groups introduce a dynamic approach to device management by automatically classifying devices and applying the appropriate apps, policies and configurations in near real time.
Instead of relying on static device groups that require manual updates or scheduled refresh cycles, Smart Device Groups ensure devices receive the right policies as soon as their attributes change—helping IT teams manage endpoints more efficiently and securely.
Device attributes change constantly: Operating System (OS) updates roll out overnight, devices move between locations, security incidents require immediate quarantine and frontline workers swap backup equipment during shift changes. Yet most mobile device management (MDM) platforms rely on static device groups that refresh on fixed 12- or 24-hour schedules, creating dangerous gaps where devices run outdated policies and security vulnerabilities persist unaddressed.
Organizations managing mobile device fleets face critical operational challenges with traditional static device groups:
1. Security delays when compromised devices wait hours for policy updates
When a security team identifies a compromised device, manual group reassignment and policy application can take hours—leaving the threat active and potentially spreading across the network. Devices that receive OS updates or change locations may violate compliance requirements for hours until the next scheduled group refresh, creating audit risk and potential regulatory violations.
Smart Device Groups continuously monitor device attributes and automatically reclassify devices in near real-time, typically within minutes of an attribute change. Updated apps, policies, OEM configurations, and compliance rules apply immediately.
This eliminates the policy lag that creates security vulnerabilities, compliance violations and productivity disruptions in traditional Mobile Device Management (MDM) environments.
2. Manual IT work to find, reassign and troubleshoot devices
Administrators spend valuable time manually correcting device group assignments and troubleshooting policy application issues instead of focusing on strategic initiatives that drive business value. Smart Device Groups solves for this inefficiency.
Smart Device Groups leverage the familiar MaaS360 device search interface that administrators already know. This allows:
- Filtering devices by status and type
- Layering attribute conditions using and logic from the supported attributes sets
- Previewing results in real-time to validate group membership
- Naming and saving groups as Public or Private for appropriate access control.
Smart Device Groups coexist with traditional static groups, allowing organizations to deploy dynamic management where it delivers the most value while maintaining static groups for stable device populations.
3. Most endpoint management tools have limited device attributes
Traditional MDM and unified endpoint management (UEM) platform have a small number of static device groups and manual device management. IBM MaaS360 can combine 40+ attributes across hardware, OS, user and custom metadata. This enables organizations to classify devices far more precisely and automatically.
Smart Device Groups use any combination of 40+ device attributes across four categories:
- Hardware attributes: Device model, manufacturer, IMEI number, serial number, enrolment mode and managed status
- Operating system attributes: OS name, version, patch level and network identifiers
- User attributes: Username, email address, department and job role
- Custom attributes: Location, device owner, warranty status, security posture, assignment status and any organization-specific metadata
This breadth of attributes enables precise device classification that reflects your organization’s unique operational requirements and business processes.
Here’s a look at Smart Device Groups in action within the MaaS360 admin portal:
Below are three examples on how to improve your endpoint management, accelerate device updates and close security gaps:
1. Automated device provisioning
Scenario: Your organization maintains backup devices in warehouses with generic baseline policies. When support staff assigns a backup device to a frontline worker, manual policy updates delay productivity.
Smart Device Groups solution: Tag backup devices with custom attribute “Status: Backup” and assign them to a warehouse group. When support assigns a device and updates the attribute to “Status: Assigned,” Smart Device Groups automatically moves it to the operational group—instantly pushing role-specific apps and kiosk policies.
Business benefit: Zero-touch provisioning eliminates IT support tickets and gets workers productive immediately, reducing mean time to productivity from hours to minutes.
The image shows how to create a Smart Device Group to automate this provisioning workflow:
2. Instant security response
Scenario: Your security team detects malware on a device and needs to quarantine it immediately to prevent lateral movement, but manual group reassignment creates response delays.
Smart Device Groups solution: Update the device’s “Security Status” custom attribute to “Quarantined.” Smart Device Groups immediately moves the device to a restricted group that applies an app compliance policy blocking all applications.
Business benefit: Automated threat containment reduces incident response time from hours to minutes, minimizing potential damage and helps contain threats before they spread.
3. Seamless location management
Scenario: Devices moving between warehouse locations require manual policy updates to apply location-specific configurations, network settings, and operational procedures.
Smart Device Groups solution: Create Smart Device Groups based on serial number ranges for each facility. When a device transfers locations, add its serial number to the destination facility’s group—policies update automatically.
Business benefit: IT eliminates manual policy management for device transfers across hundreds of locations, reducing administrative overhead while ensuring consistent policy enforcement.
With Smart Device Groups, organizations can unlock a range of security, compliance, and productivity benefits:
- Accelerated security response: Automatically quarantine compromised devices within minutes of threat detection, reducing the window of exposure and limiting potential damage.
- Improved compliance posture: Ensure devices always run current policies that match their actual state, eliminating compliance gaps that create audit risk.
- Reduced IT overhead: Eliminate manual device group management and policy troubleshooting, freeing IT resources for strategic initiatives.
- Enhanced end-user productivity: Deliver the right apps and configurations to devices immediately when needed, minimizing downtime and operational disruption.
- Operational agility: Respond instantly to changing business requirements without manual intervention or scheduled maintenance windows.
Smart Device Groups are available now and included in all MaaS360 editions at no additional cost to all MaaS360 customers worldwide:
- MaaS360 Essentials
- MaaS360 Deluxe
- MaaS360 Premier
- MaaS360 Enterprise
For existing MaaS360 customers, access Smart Device Groups immediately through your MaaS360 console:
- Navigate to Devices > Groups
- Select Add > Smart Device Group
- Configure your first Smart Device Group using the intuitive creation interface.
For organizations evaluating MaaS360, experience Smart Device Groups and the complete MaaS360 platform with a 30-day free trial—no credit card required.