If do you use several tens of mobile units then mobile device management is nearly the need. It may be not only the system for the on-the-fly mobile units management but usually it is useful to prepare easily and quickly new mobile units, units returned from the repair, to re-configure them for the use on different sites etc. But a mobile device management may be a benefit also in smaller implementations.
Especially in the case if mobile units utilize "thick client" application that needs to be more or less frequently updated it is a good idea to consider the use of a mobile device management thoroughly. Such a system enables application distribution remotely without the need to collect the devices physically on one place. That may be an issue many times, especially with mobile devices used in the field (WWAN devices, devices on different sites etc.). Thus, a mobile device management can facilitate the job of IT workers significantly.
Mobile device management systems can collect and analyze data about the use of mobile device sources like number of bacode scans, memory or battery utilization, Wi-Fi adapter status etc. It is a benefit when determining the trends and makes mobile device inventory more sophisticated and helpful.