3 Simple Device Management Tips to Save You Hours
Jan 08, 2019

In the time I have been at Axon I have met with numerous agencies, researched the challenges with device management that our customers face, and implemented tools and features to return hours of time back to the agencies spent in mundane tasks. Here are the top 3 ways you can get the most value and save significant amounts of time.
1. Use Axon Device Manager mobile application
Axon Device Manager mobile application is available on iOS (iPhone 7 or higher) and Android (with NFC). It is an application designed specifically for device managers to help take tasks that take 5-10 minutes per device down to 5-10 seconds. Simply log in with your evidence.com account to register and/or assign devices to your agency and/or officers. A simple scan or tap of the phone gets the data needed to register or assign. It updates evidence.com with the information in real-time. The best part is you don't have to bring the device to your computer. Other features being added in the near future include the ability to change device statuses, add devices directly to returns, update device home, and add device name individually and in bulk right through the mobile app. This is truly the Swiss army knife equivalent tool for the device managers. And now, most Axon devices are supported through the application. Just download directly from the corresponding app store.
2. Manage your devices using the Device Status field
Evidence.com has device status as part of inventory management. These statuses include assigned, in stock, lost, stolen, returns, scrapped, in evidence, etc. They allow you to track the device directly in evidence.com without extra paperwork. Simply select one or more devices and assign the status they are in currently. Update the status as needed. In the future some of the statuses will update automatically. Additionally, the device summary report under the “Reports” section of evidence.com include the status for all devices so you can generate a comprehensive report that allows you to see the entire inventory of devices at your agencies and sort by the device status. During inventory audits or cases, this can save you some valuable time. Previously, agencies had to either use the “Device Name” field or some more ancient methods like spreadsheets or physical paper.
3. Use the device summary report, device search and export features
You can use the device summary report from Evidence.com for audits and inventory tracking. Next time your supervisor asks for a status of the inventory, just pull the report and in minutes you will be able to provide a full view of the inventory at the agency with the up-to-date statuses. As new fields get added they will be included in the report. You can also use the basic and advanced filters within inventory search to find specific set of devices. You can also export the search results into PDF, csv, or excel formats for record keeping or other needs. You will not need to spend time figuring out filtering in excel or other formats anymore.
Bonus: Device Home - coming very soon!
A new feature that is being released in evidence.com is device home. This is another inventory management tool to help track where a device belongs. As an administrator you can create the various homes at your agency like precincts, divisions, or other device locations and then assign devices to these homes. This will allow you to manage inventory by each device home or location. Specially for large agencies, this is intended to helps track smaller devices that tend to get misplaced or lost easily. Anyone can look up the device serial number in evidence.com and determine where it belongs.
Want to learn more about best practices and Axon device management capabilities? Join us at Axon Accelerate 2019 – a symposium of thought-leadership where you can get hands-on learning, network with peers, learn from experts, and find out what’s on the horizon for law enforcement. https://www.acceleratepolicing.com/