Sophos Mobile

Centrally manage and protect mobile devices

Sophos Mobile combines device and app management with Mobile Threat Defense. This gives IT a shared overview and avoids repeating settings individually on each device. The licence was previously called Central Mobile Advanced; combining management and threat defence remains its core purpose.

Android devices, iPhones, iPads, Macs and Windows computers are supported; available management features vary by platform and enrolment type. Android Enterprise work profiles and Apple User Enrollment are available for personal devices. They help separate business content from personal content.

Define device profiles

Configuring Wi-Fi, VPN and device restrictions to a common standard saves repeated manual work. IT creates profiles for the supported platform and distributes them to the intended devices or groups.

Which settings can be enforced depends, among other factors, on whether a device is company-owned, supervised or uses only a work profile. You can therefore handle corporate and personal devices differently by design.

Compliance policies

A missing passcode, outdated operating system or tampered device can put business data at risk. Compliance rules check these conditions and make deviations visible.

Supported actions can be configured for rule violations. The check alone does not automatically block all network access: the desired response and any further access controls must be configured.

App management

Deploy the required business apps centrally and define which apps may be used. Sophos Mobile supports distributing store apps and in-house applications within each platform’s capabilities.

Android Enterprise and Apple’s management services assist deployment. Enrolment, permissions and the required platform accounts must be configured. Licensing is per user; each device without an assigned user counts as one licence.

Business email without the old Sophos container

The former container app Sophos Secure Email is no longer supported. It is therefore no longer part of the recommended setup for a new environment. The existing image shows this historical application.

Sophos recommends Android Enterprise work profiles or Apple User Enrollment to separate personal and business content. The email app and account settings used depend on the platform and your email environment. Device management does not replace an email filtering service.

Business data in the managed area

Sophos Secure Workspace and the former Sophos Container are also no longer supported. The image is retained as a historical illustration; new deployments should separate business data through the platform’s current management capabilities.

With Android work profiles, Sophos manages the business area. Apple User Enrollment separates managed apps and data from the personal account. Rules for app distribution and data use must match the relevant enrolment type. The respective cloud services’ own features and policies govern their encryption and protection.

Mobile Threat Defense

Alongside device management, Sophos Mobile includes Sophos Mobile Threat Defense, centrally managed threat defence with Intercept X for Mobile. On Android, this includes malware and app checks. On iPhones and iPads, web and network checks are available, among other features; an Android malware scanner cannot be applied to iOS.

The combination suits IT teams that want both device configuration and visibility of threat status. For device management alone, choose Sophos Mobile Device Management. Mobile Threat Defense is also available separately.