he need to manage applications on unmanaged devices owned by employees or contractors is driving adoption of stand-alone mobile app management (MAM) software and services, according to a new Gartner report.

By 2021, 60% of mobile apps being used in the enterprise will rely on at least one app-level management control, whether on managed or unmanaged devices, Gartner's Market Guide for Mobile Application Management said.

Unlike MAM tools that are part of a larger enterprise mobility management (EMM) suite, the use of stand-alone MAM licensing offers lower per-user cost and can be attractive for companies only requiring app management, Gartner said. For other firms, EMM provides the advantage of a single console and policy set.

Often a SaaS offering, MAM is a targeted solution that locks down enterprise applications and the data associated with them – not the devices themselves, as mobile device management (MDM) does. When MAM is part of a larger EMM suite, businesses are often required to purchase additional licenses for it.

As organizations grapple with enforcing policies on cloud services, they're more often turning to a cloud access security broker (CASB). CASBs can consolidate multiple types of security policy enforcement, such as authentication, single sign-on, device profiling and encryption.

CASBs enable access and authorization control over cloud-based resources, such as a cloud-based CRM front end for mobile devices, Gartner said.

"It is increasingly apparent that the growth of CASB is more likely to complement rather than replace current mobile management paradigms. Therefore, mobility strategists should become familiar with CASBs due to the impact they are starting to have," the report explained.

Because MAM allows a company to control features or access to business applications and associated data, it can provide security whether on a corporate-issued or employee-owned smartphone or tablet.

"Currently employed by more than 10% of surveyed organizations to distribute mobile apps, standalone MAM will continue to find favor where enrolling a device in an EMM system isn't practical (as with contractors)," Gartner said.