Connecting the missing link between cloud management and SIM management portals
SIM management platforms are a key tool utilized by IT teams to easily manage many SIMs across a Wireless WAN. Visibility into a SIM’s activity status, rate plan, and roaming details are crucial when analyzing data consumption and troubleshooting issues. But is traditional manual management the most efficient way to do that?
What does traditional SIM management look like?
Traditional SIM management services is the combination of manually navigating two or more separate platforms: a cloud management platform which provides remote control over an enterprise’s network and its security; and a Connectivity Management Platform (CMP) that allows users to monitor, analyze, and modify their cellular deployments. These two tools work simultaneously to oversee SIMs deployed on a network. A CMP allows IT teams to:
- Order SIMs
- Activate and deactivate SIMs
- Pause or terminate SIMs
- Change rate plans
- Assign or lock a SIM to a device's International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI)
Manually switching between the two platforms can become a large challenge when there are more than a few SIMs being utilize on an enterprise’s network. Why does this happen?
The challenge of manual SIM management
Communication between CMPs and cloud management services is nonexistent unless specifically built. A CMP cannot identify a SIM to an actual router, client, or application, and the cloud management system does not have visibility into the SIM data plan. If an issue regarding a SIM is discovered, the IT team must manually inspect and flip flop between the two systems to properly identify the location of the troubled SIM.
More specifically, the IT team must first obtain the IMEI associated with the SIM from the CMP, then input it into the cloud management service to troubleshoot, and then finally go back to the CMP once more to resolve the issue.
This manual toggling between the CMP and cloud management service might be tolerable when dealing with one or two routers, but it makes managing larger WANs extremely taxing on IT teams.
Finding the right SIM management platform
What is the solution? A CMP and cloud management system integrating with each other to share data over one platform. The benefits of an all-in-one SIM management platform include:
- Simplifying deployments: The ability to activate SIMs through a cloud management system and to confirm SIMs are active and are using the correct data plan.
- Increase visibility: The ability to view who, what, when, where, why, and how cellular data is being used, and to troubleshoot connectivity and data issues.
- Lifecycle management: The ability to deactivate and pause lost, stolen, misplaced, and unused SIMs.
Cradlepoint's SIM Management feature, in collaboration with Simetric, creates this clear communication over a single platform — allowing IT teams to view SIM data plans without manually visiting their CMP’s website. The ability to easily view the status of any SIM and troubleshoot from one place simplifies SIM management, especially as networks expand and evolve.