Setting Up MDM Deployments in Contactzilla

MDM (Mobile Device Management) deployments allow you to efficiently manage and sync contacts across multiple devices in your organization. This guide will walk you through the process of setting up MDM deployments in Contactzilla.

Not using an MDM? To set up phones by scanning a QR code instead, see How to Put Contactzilla Contacts on Phones Without MDM by Scanning a QR Code.

Creating an MDM Team Member

Before setting up device connections for MDM, you need to create an MDM team member:

1) Navigate to the Team Members section in your Contactzilla account.
2) Provide an email address for reference (this won’t be used for login).
3) Select ‘MDM User – Device Only Access’ as the user type.
4) Click ‘Add’ to create the MDM user.

Important: MDM users do not have access to the web interface and are designed specifically for large-scale device deployments.

Tip 💡: For a complete understanding of different team member types and their access levels, check out our detailed guide on managing team members and permissions

Set Up the Device Connection for MDM

Once you’ve created an MDM team member, follow these steps to set up the MDM device connection:

a) Click the team and address book selector at the top of the left-hand menu → Choose the team and address book where you want to create the connection.

b) Click Device Connections in the left-hand menu.

c) Complete the Create New Device Connection form → Click Create:
Connection Type: Choose the appropriate device platform (iOS, Android, or Other).
Assign to Team Member: Select the MDM user you created in the first steps.
Access Type: Choose your preferred permissions level for this user.
Number of Device Connections: Select how many devices will connect via this MDM connection.

Additional Options (for Read Only access types):

• Append 🔒 emoji: Adds a lock symbol (🔒) to contact names on devices.

For Selective Read Only

• Click the label button to choose which labels to include.
• Select one or more labels from the list.

After Creating the MDM Device Connection

• The new connection will appear in your list of device connections.
• You can monitor status, view connection details, and adjust the number of device connections.
• Click Setup → Download Profile to get the provisioning profile (.mobileconfig file) for easy setup on iOS devices.

Important Notes

• The connection password is only revealed once. Save it immediately or use the provisioning profile.
• Once the connection is first used, the password cannot be retrieved again.
• If you need the password later, you’ll need to create a new connection.

Best Practices for MDM Deployments

• Regularly review and update the number of device connections as needed.
• Consider using read-only access for sensitive contact lists to prevent unauthorized changes.
• Utilize the provisioning profile for bulk deployments via your MDM solution.

By following these steps, you can efficiently set up and manage large-scale contact synchronization for your organization using Contactzilla’s MDM capabilities.

Tip 💡: For quick device setup, download the provisioning profile (.mobileconfig file) and follow our step-by-step guide on installing the profile on iOS devices.