If you outsource company phone management, you hand off day-to-day operations: procurement, setup, MDM, repairs, replacements and support.
What stays with you are the decisions: who gets which device, which rules apply and who is accountable for data protection.
The simplest way to do it is with a Device as a Service provider like Everphone, which bundles devices and management into one monthly rental.
Most IT teams never consciously took on company phone management. It just accumulated: ten devices at first, then thirty, then an MDM that somebody maintains "on the side". At some point it comes down to one person whether new employees have a set-up device on day one and whether a lost phone is locked quickly.
This article tells you which tasks it makes sense to hand off, which you can't, and where you might get seriously burned managing devices yourself.
Which company phone tasks can be outsourced
You can outsource anything that follows fixed rules and always runs the same way. You have to decide where the rules come from in the first place. The table shows the split that has proven itself with us hundreds of times.
We assume you have chosen a Device as a Service provider like Everphone, so this largely mirrors our own service. We can't judge in detail what other companies do.
| Task | DaaS provider | You |
|---|---|---|
| Procurement and rollout | Source, set up and ship the device | Report the need (can be automated through HR or ITSM), adjust the portfolio now and then with your account manager |
| MDM operation | Run the platform, apply updates, enrol devices | Define security policies |
| Repair and replacement | Replace defective devices | Nothing to do |
| Phone plans (optional) | Ongoing management and optimisation of plans | Budget and plan requirements |
| Support | First-level support for employees | Nothing to do |
| Returns | Certified data erasure, refurbishment | Nothing to do for device swaps; for offboarding, trigger it (via API if you like) |
| Data protection | Implement technical measures | Define security policies |
What stays with you even if you outsource everything
Responsibility for data protection stays with you. Under the GDPR you are the controller, even if a service provider manages the devices. The provider processes data on your behalf and needs a contract under Article 28 GDPR for that. We naturally have all of that ready for our customers.
In general, our devices are already GDPR-compliant thanks to a clean data-separation concept through the MDM. Special requirements are clarified in advance.
We get two more questions very often:
Is private use allowed?
At Everphone we are strong advocates of private use: it can be solved technically without any problem today, it can become a very popular benefit and, all in all, it is not only more practical for your employees but also more sustainable. You simply don't need two devices, only one.
What happens if a device is lost?
If one of our devices is stolen or lost, that is annoying, of course. It is locked immediately by remote lock or wiped by remote wipe to prevent unauthorised access to company data.
Whether Everphone does this or your IT team depends on how deeply the MDM is integrated. Some customers prefer to handle it themselves.
We then send a replacement device to the employee affected. For the lost device we charge its current value at the time of loss.
Outtasking or full outsourcing
Experts distinguish two models. With outtasking, you hand off individual tasks and keep the rest. With outsourcing, you hand over a whole area, including responsibility for the results.
For company phones, Device as a Service is the happy medium: you have just one provider for devices and management, and only strategic control stays with you.
The alternatives are cumbersome. A retailer supplies the devices, another company runs the MDM, the mobile carrier looks after the plans, a workshop does the repairs. That is four contracts with four contacts, and with every incident IT asks who is responsible this time. And all of it also has to be invoiced.
With a Device as a Service contract, all of that is in one monthly rental. Everphone takes care of MDM, plans, rollout, device replacement and first-level support. Damaged devices are replaced as part of the service, and damage is covered in the rental.
When outsourcing company phones is worth it
It pays off when company phone management eats up time nobody planned for. You can measure that in a week. Count how many device requests reach IT and how long each takes: setup, replacement, SIM swaps, credentials, returns.
Then you calculate three items:
- Hours per month spent on device tasks, multiplied by your internal hourly rate.
- Downtime: how long does someone work without a device until the replacement arrives?
- The effort that is hard to quantify: storage, old devices, depreciation, the return chaos when people leave.
You set this total against the rental rate. There is no minimum size.
What matters is not the number of devices but whether the task keeps a person busy or just runs alongside everything else. Even in a small company it gets expensive if the only IT person spends two days a month on phones. For more on the question of size, see the article What is the minimum size for Device as a Service?
What to look for in the contract
The contract decides whether outsourcing works. Five points belong in it:
- Data processing agreement: a contract under Art. 28 GDPR, stating where data is processed.
- Response times: how quickly is a lost device locked? How quickly does a replacement arrive? Numbers, not "promptly".
- Data erasure: certified erasure on return, with proof per device.
- Exit: what happens to devices and configuration if you terminate? Is there a purchase option at the end of the term?
- Transparency: can you see inventory, status and assignment at any time yourself, in the portal or via API?
The questions every offer has to answer are covered in more detail in Choosing a DaaS provider: nine questions. For data protection in detail, see Is Device as a Service GDPR-compliant?.
Who should outsource company phones
If device management at your company depends on a person or team who actually have other jobs: yes. If you juggle several providers for devices, MDM and plans: yes, but bundle them.
The next step is the week with the tally sheet. Afterwards you know what the task costs and can compare offers instead of setting gut feeling against gut feeling.
If cost is what drives you, you can also run a comparison with our TCO calculator: https://deviceforecast-v2.everphone.org/
Frequently asked questions
What does it mean to outsource company phone management?
You hand off tasks such as procurement, MDM operation, repairs, replacement and support to an external provider. Policies, budget and responsibility for data protection stay with you. With Device as a Service, devices and management are bundled into one monthly rental.
Do I lose control over my data when I outsource?
Not if the contract is right. You remain the controller under the GDPR, and the provider processes data as a processor on your instructions. What matters is a contract under Art. 28 GDPR, a clear place of processing and certified erasure on return.
What does it cost to outsource company phones?
A flat figure would be made up. Costs depend on the device model, the term and the scope of service. Compare the rental rate with your internal costs for hours, downtime and storage. For smartphones, the TCO calculator for smartphones helps.
Is it worth it for small companies too?
Yes. There is no minimum size. What matters is whether device management ties up time you are missing elsewhere. With a single IT person, that is often the case even with a small fleet.