MDM controls devices with full management capabilities. A Device Trust Platform assesses devices with a read-only, privacy-first approach. Learn when you need each — and why BYOD teams are choosing Device Trust.
Mobile Device Management takes control of the device. It can enforce configurations, push apps, restrict features, track location, and remote wipe. MDM requires device enrollment and an MDM profile — which gives the organisation significant control over the hardware. Best for company-owned devices.
A Device Trust Platform checks the security posture of a device without controlling it. It verifies firewall, encryption, OS patches, SSH hardening, and 190+ other configurations — then calculates a trust score. No remote wipe. No app management. No location tracking. Best for BYOD, contractors, and privacy-sensitive environments.
| Capability | MDM | Device Trust (Lorika) |
|---|---|---|
| Primary purpose | Manage & control devices | Assess & verify device posture |
| Approach | Full control — enforce configurations | Read-only — assess configurations |
| Enrollment | MDM profile required (invasive) | Lightweight agent (<10 MB binary) |
| Remote wipe | ✓ Can wipe entire device | ✗ Read-only, no wipe capability |
| App management | ✓ Install, restrict, remove apps | ✗ Only inventories installed software |
| Location tracking | ✓ GPS tracking available | ✗ No location access |
| Security posture assessment | Basic policy compliance | ✓ 190+ deep security checks |
| Security Score | ✗ No scoring | ✓ Weighted 0-100 trust score |
| Compliance frameworks | ✗ Not built-in | ✓ CIS, NIST, ISO 27001, SOC 2, PCI DSS, NBU №143, NBU №95 |
| CVE scanning | ✗ Not available | ✓ OSV.dev CVE matching per package |
| SSH hardening checks | ✗ Not assessed | ✓ Root login, password auth, MaxAuthTries |
| Kernel hardening | ✗ Not assessed | ✓ ASLR, SIP, Secure Boot, SELinux |
| BYOD friendly | ✗ Employees resist enrollment | ✓ Privacy-first, no control |
| Contractor devices | ✗ Can't enroll third-party devices | ✓ Assess without controlling |
| Cross-platform | Varies — often platform-specific | ✓ macOS, Windows, Linux |
| Deployment time | Days to weeks | 3 minutes — one-line install |
| Free tier | ✗ Enterprise pricing only | ✓ Free for up to 10 devices |
You have company-owned devices that need full control: app distribution, feature restrictions, remote wipe, and configuration enforcement. MDM is the right choice for managed corporate fleets where the organisation owns the hardware.
You have BYOD, contractors, or remote workers using personal devices. Employees won't accept MDM on their personal laptop. A Device Trust Platform gives you security visibility without invasive control — verifying posture before granting access.
You have a mixed environment — company devices and BYOD. Use MDM for corporate-owned hardware (full management), and Device Trust for personal devices (read-only assessment). Unified Security Score across all endpoints.
MDM enrollment gives the organisation control over the entire device — including the ability to remote wipe, track location, and see installed apps. For personal devices, this is unacceptable to most employees:
Lorika takes a fundamentally different approach. The agent is read-only — it checks security configuration but cannot modify, wipe, or control the device in any way:
While MDM focuses on policy enforcement, a Device Trust Platform goes deeper into security posture — checking configurations that MDM typically doesn't assess.
Root login disabled, password authentication off, MaxAuthTries limits, TCP forwarding controls, ClientAliveInterval — MDM doesn't check these.
ASLR, NX/DEP, SIP (macOS), Secure Boot, SELinux/AppArmor, core dump disabled, kernel module blacklist — low-level security that MDM misses.
Docker daemon not on TCP, no privileged containers, Docker Content Trust enabled — critical for developer workstations.
Every installed package checked against OSV.dev databases. Severity breakdown, fix availability, per-device vulnerability timeline — MDM doesn't do this.
Free forever for personal use. Privacy-first. 190+ deep security checks. No enrollment profiles. No remote wipe.
Start free — up to 10 devices →