SOTI MobiControl Reviews

I work for a global clothing manufacturer, and we currently utilize both SOTI MobiControl and Windows Intune. I am the senior technician in charge of retail hardware globally. We've got locations in EMEA, APAC, Latin America, and North America.

In my current project, I'm using SOTI. The retail environment uses Zebra TC 77 devices that are Intune. I have to wait for a guy in the UK to do his job, and he's stretched thin. Increasingly, I must step it up and become a mobile device manager. All these other guys who are high up in the tech team access Intune, but they don't provide me with the level of access I'm accustomed to as a systems administrator.

I'm not the administrator of Intune, so I must wait on the IT guy who manages it. These Intune guys are holier than thou, and I don't operate that way. Whatever they say goes because they're the Intune administrator, and they architect things the way they want or the way they have been taught in their certification program. That's just what got me to look into SOTI.

The graphical user interface is fantastic. I had a guy get me up and running in less than two hours, whereas there are issues with Microsoft Intune. You need an administrator proficient with Intune, and he has to create the groups. 

These groups trickle down to where the devices live and how they operate in terms of the QR codes and getting the APK into the system so we can manage the devices. SOTI is more accessible. 

The ease of access was awesome. The guys helping us out were pretty fluent in the product. I currently have two devices in a dashboard that we're testing, but the solution that they have is awesome. I like that it's a cloud-based based solution, and I think there will be some significant cost savings.

I wish that I had some more tutorials and educational resources on how to use the product.

Several of our major partners like FedEx, UPS, and USPS are using MobiControl with a ton of devices. Updating the firmware is easy. If you do it in Microsoft Intune, you're going to end up with a lot of false reporting. I have not seen that issue with SOTI MobiControl so far.

Setting up MobiControl wasn't complex. I had someone help me. I asked him to go back and show me so that I could collect screenshots of the work he was doing, but it was fairly straightforward.

I rate SOTI MobiControl eight out of 10. I'm not an expert yet. If I had spent more time with the product, I might rate it 10. Right now, there are a few things that I'd like to see and haven't had the chance to dive into.

It's used to manage the devices in our company.

The best feature is its compatibility with various device versions, such as Windows, making it work seamlessly.

In future releases, I would like to see a better configuration of the dashboard.

Moreover, sometimes it's not very user-friendly because you need to change the profile and add the package to the profile before deploying the device.

I have been using this solution for a few years. I currently use the version 15.6.5.

It's stable, even with the cloud version. I haven't encountered

The customer service and support are good. They resolved my issues very easily. The support is very user-friendly.  Even the technicians were Italian were like me, so it was very good.

chose it for the remote control capabilities and its support for various operating systems, like Windows CA, and other software support.

The initial setup was easy for me.

The solution is not expensive.

I would like to compare it with Intune because Intune is a free tool, but I want to understand this software better.

I would recommend using the solution. Overall, I would rate the solution an eight out of ten because it's an industrial product, and it's not easy to configure a product like that.

We are not the end user. We are the service provider, so we basically manage the customer's devices using SOTI MobiControl. We deploy the applications, we also implement the lockdown, and various other features.

The lockdown, application deployment, and various settings are the most valuable for me. 

The cost could be a bit better, especially in emerging markets like South Africa.

I have experience with this product.

It's been very stable over the past few years but less stable since we upgraded to the newest version a few months ago. 

We recently had an issue before the new year 2024 where we couldn't deploy anything or stage devices. However, we logged a call with the sales team, which was resolved.

I would rate the scalability an eight out of ten. 

We have all sorts of clients, small, medium, or enterprise businesses, for SOTI MobiControl.

I don't deal with them directly, but our dedicated MDM Guardic team does.

The team did mention that initially, it took a while to get issues resolved. But recently, there's been a big improvement. Support is quite responsive now, and I get answers relatively quickly.

However, there is still room for improvement in the support. 

Neutral

From the initial setup to when the device is ready to be used, it takes a couple of minutes. It takes a couple of minutes, depending on the network's stability. We often encounter network issues.

It is an expensive product. I would rate the pricing a ten out of ten, with ten being very expensive, especially in emerging markets. 

Many competitors are coming in much cheaper, making it challenging to convince clients to choose SOTI over other MDMs.

It is a helpful tool, we'd be lost without it if we didn't have it.

Overall, I would rate the solution an eight out of ten. 

SOTI MobiControl can be used to manage all types of devices, including Windows, iOS, Mac, Chromebook, and Android.

SOTI MobiControl is the right solution for customers who want a reliable and low-cost MDM solution.

SOTI MobiControl is very good for Android and Windows, but it should add a little bit on the Apple side because it doesn't have much control on the Apple side. SOTI MobiControl should have more control over the devices.

I have been using SOTI MobiControl for one month.

SOTI MobiControl has good stability. The dates are really not based on the devices. It takes time to get updated after the machine update.

I rate SOTI MobiControl a six out of ten for stability.

You can properly scale the solution if you don't need an advanced solution.

I rate SOTI MobiControl a seven out of ten for scalability.

The solution’s technical support is pretty good.

The solution's initial setup is a little complex, but not too much.

The solution's configuration can be done in one hour, and verifying takes one day. To deploy SOTI MobiControl, you should have the devices and the tool. Once it is ready, you need to configure the Apple Business Manager and Identity Manager. Then, you can enroll the devices within 15 minutes.

SOTI MobiControl is a budget-friendly solution. Users have to pay a yearly licensing fee for SOTI MobiControl.

SOTI MobiControl is deployed on the cloud in our organization. Users can go for this solution if they want a budget MDM solution.

You can use SOTI MobiControl to manage all your devices in one platform, like Windows, iOS, Mac, and Android.

Overall, I rate SOTI MobiControl an eight out of ten.

We use the solution for its lockdown feature for our devices. So, when we give mobiles to our on-field technicians, we want only our corporate application to work on it. We don't want them to install any unauthorized software on it so as to ensure the security of the device and the data. We allow only authorized applications to run on their devices with the solution's help.

They should improve the lockdown feature. Presently, it gets revoked sometimes, and the user can do some unintended activity. Sometimes, the mobiles get stuck as well. They should work on these kinds of operational issues.

We have been using the solution for five to seven years.

It is a stable solution. We have some issues, such as one of the devices might face problems once in a while. Otherwise, it is stable.

It is a scalable solution. We have scaled up several devices and applications to it. We have 800 hundred solution users in the region under my administration. Currently, we are using the solution specifically for field devices. But, we plan to connect office devices to solutions. So, the number of devices may increase in our organization.

It takes 25% of a person's time to deploy and maintain the solution.

There is a return on investment in the solution because we have our devices secured. Also, we have discipline in working. In addition, they address security patching as well.

We purchase the solution's yearly license. There are additional costs if you want to use extra features. For example, I have a printing license on the Microsoft platform. If I had to use printing in SOTI, it would have charged me extra cost.

Besides the price, it is a good solution. I recommend it to others and rate it as an eight.

The company is a pharmaceutical company. They run plasma centers. It's like collecting blood, but they collect plasma instead. The whole process is operated through mobile devices. They can't gather plasma unless these mobile devices work. It's a way of logging the customer in, checking their plasma, and saying that this is done on the machine now. The whole process is managed with these mobile devices. SOTI MobiControl manages these devices, and I know where they are and how they're working. I need to make sure they have the right software. I can turn them on or off, and I can remote control them from the support perspective. I don't deal with the software that they actually run. I deal with the fixing of those. For example, if I was a cellphone company, I don't have anything to do with your conversations on your cellphone, but I can turn it off and on, or I can fix it for you. My role is similar to that.

In terms of deployment, it is dealing with mobile devices that are mostly Android, and they're all over the world, but the servers are all on-prem. There is a cloud solution, but we don't use it.

The company's support is the best. That'd be the number one thing. You don't play with such programs for fun. There is nothing great about any of them. They're tools, and they all do a lot. They all do the same thing. Some are better, and some are worse. In my opinion, what makes SOTI better than the others is their support. Their enterprise support is very attentive and very good.

In terms of features, the remote control feature is what I use the most.

They could make it easier to configure. While setting it up from scratch, I find many networking issues, and I have to call our network people for them, but our network people don't understand. It's a nightmare to try to communicate to them that this port needs to be open, or this needs to be opened here or there. Networking people are very security conscious, and they're wary of doing anything. So, if you can't tell them exactly why they need to do something, they get really paranoid. SOTI could do a better job of making the configuration of their software easier to understand and more clear. The prerequisites should be clear. They should clearly specify what is required to get this software working. There should be a list of prerequisites that is easier to understand and trust.

I have been using this solution for about four years.

It's as stable as any other solution that I've used to do such management. The king of the hill in this is called AirWatch from VMware. SOTI is not like that, but AirWatch also costs three times more.

It is scalable up to the sizes we're going to need. We have 20,000 devices, and it doesn't have any problem with that. Once we get beyond 20,000 or 30,000 devices, I don't know how it will be. We definitely have plans to increase its usage. That's what we're doing right now.

For these 20,000 devices, we have three people for deployment and maintenance. They are architects and administrators. They are setting it up, configuring it, and supporting it. In addition to these three people, we also have frontline support. We aren't the people shipping the devices out. It probably takes three people just to do the shipping for all the devices.

Their enterprise support is very attentive and very good.

The setup is not at all hard. It's like any other program. You just install it. It's the configuration that is difficult. There are so many things on your network that need to be open. You need to take care of ports, URLs, access to certificates, etc. There is just a laundry list of things. It is not that they're hard to do, but in most enterprise companies, you not only need to know what you're asking the security or networking teams; you also need to be able to tell them. When they tell you no, you need to be able to say why they have to and explain it. You need to be able to explain that if they don't do this, this major thing in our company won't work. 

SOTI should not only tell me what needs to be done. It should also give me good reasons for it. If we need to open a certain port, it should explain why we need to do it, and if we don't do it, this won't work. With such information, I could tell the networking people that this is what I need. It's not going to be a security issue because we're only talking to our own servers. Instead of telling them only what I want to be done, I should be able to tell them why it's okay to do and why it's not going to hurt anything. Currently, because such information is not there, there is a lot of back and forth communication.

My advice would be to pay for enterprise support and not try to do it all through self-service. Unless you're a very professional person who's been doing this for 50 years or so, don't think that paying for enterprise support is something you don't need to do. You need to pay for this kind of solution. Don't try to do it all.

I would rate it an eight out of ten.

I am a distributor of SOTI in Hong Kong.

This solution is most suitable for government companies.

SOTI is good for medium to large-sized companies. In Hong Kong, we have so many customers that the smallest customer in Hong Kong has about 10 users, and our largest customer has more than 32,000 devices.

One of the customers that we support is in the government sector. They are using Workspace ONE for 8,000 devices.

We mainly give them support on the MDM for Workspace ONE.

The keywords menu is better than other MDM. They have an Out of Contact policy, which other MDMs don't have.

The SOTI system architecture and requirements are more simple compared to Workspace ONE.

They have a script engine that's very good for engineer support.

They have legacy design architecture, and sometimes the support isn't helpful.

Sometimes the innovative features are very difficult.

I have worked with SOTO MobiControl for 13 years.

I would rate the stability as eight out of ten.

If a customer goes directly to SOTI support, sometimes they can't solve the problem immediately. Usually in Hong Kong, we do the first tier of support for all of our customers.

The deployment process is simple because the legacy interface is easy to understand and easier to use than Workspace ONE. The SOTI Next-Generation UI is just like Workspace ONE, so sometimes it's difficult to use.

SOTI is changing from the classic user interface to a more modern type of user interface, which is more difficult to use.

It's a little bit expensive. The Hong Kong government has a perpetual license for SOTI rather than a subscription.

I would rate this solution as eight out of ten.

My advice is to find the right consultant.

SOTI is mainly used for managing mobile devices, like laptops, mobile barcode scanners, and mobile printers. It's used for security, OS updates, and monitoring. 

SOTI's most valuable feature has to be mobile device management and visibility through the main console. There's a central dashboard that you can use to monitor the devices and keep track of usage, battery consumption, and battery life. So at the beginning of a shift, a client can look at all the places that just logged on and see how many of them have bad batteries. For example, if you see batteries that just came off a charger but they are under 80% charge when they should be fully recharged. They've also got a couple of new products. They have a software development app called SOTI Snap that lets users create Android applications

SOTI has a ticketing solution as well for help desk requests from different departments. They can track, take photos and generate new requests, then follow up on old requests. They can obviously close requests that have been fully managed and taken care of.

Companies like SOTI and Mobile Iron are working with Google to help them manage these devices and eliminate the use of bar code scanner sales and mobile device sales. That's kind of crazy. The majority of the devices that we sell use Android OS. With the latest versions of Android that are coming out, like 10 and 11, you have to have MDM software to register devices with Google. You can't get them online without going through an MDM, it's kind of this funny new aspect of Android, and it's all designed so they can control all their Android devices in the future. With the way things are licensed and the direction that Android and Google are going, they're trying to eliminate old legacy devices.

There's no way to stop that unless you control the licensing. So if a company buys a hundred new devices, they have to register with Google. Once they're registered, if a new company tries to sell those hundred devices five years later and another company tries to register the devices, Google can shut them down and say that they're not authorized to relicense this product

I've been using SOTI for about 15 years.

SOTI seems to be stable.

I believe SOTI is scalable. There are big corporations out there — companies with upwards of 4,000 cell phones that they need to manage — using it. From what I understand, SOTI handles that volume very well.

SOTI tech support is solid.

Setup is easy for the on-prem. For transitions to the cloud, it can take two days to get everything converted up and uploaded into the cloud. We just did one recently and there weren't any problems. It switched over from on-prem to cloud pretty seamlessly.

Customers can achieve some cost savings using SOTI. For example, SOTI can keep track of things like data consumption and roaming. Say there's a truck driver out on the road playing Pandora over his phone and it's adding up all these roaming charges to the company, they can get the data on stuff like that, then configure the devices to not allow roaming.

SOTI is fairly priced. It's not super expensive. If you have a thousand devices that are licensed, it's going to start climbing up in price. Typically, it's like 25 bucks a seat for a year. There is also is a maintenance cost to it. It's like seven bucks for tech support. So it's right around 30 dollars on average per seat.

Out of all the alternatives, SOTI is definitely the mobile device management software that we recommend. There is a handful of them out there — Mobile Iron, Avanti, and AirWatch—  and it seems like the majority of people are using SOTI over the other ones. A lot of people use the other ones as well, but it does seem like SOTI is the leader in that field.

The owners of this company are seasoned wireless guys that have been doing this for 20 years and SOTI is all we sell. When we come up against a customer that has AirWatch, we've sold them on the benefits of SOTI over the other types of software and transitioned them to using SOTI rather than the other competitors.

I would give SOTI a solid eight out of 10.