Administrators can rely on four kinds of fleet state in Otukan: what the device is (manufacturer, model, serial number where the mode exposes it), what it runs (OS version, Android patch level, managed apps), who it belongs to (ownership, user, group) and whether it is in line (policy status, last check-in). Every value carries the time the device last reported it, so reported state is never passed off as live state. Personally owned devices show only their work side. Search, saved views and role-limited export turn the record into daily answers.
Inventory scope
Otukan builds the inventory from what each platform’s management framework reports, then keeps it in one record per device. The field groups below are the backbone of that record.
| Field group | Example fields | Android (Android Enterprise) | iOS and iPadOS (Apple device management) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardware identity | Manufacturer, model, serial number | Reported on corporate-owned devices; withheld from a work profile on personal devices | Reported on corporate-owned devices; not revealed under User Enrollment |
| Software | OS version, managed apps and versions | OS version and security patch level; apps inside the managed profile or device | OS version; managed apps only on User Enrollment |
| Ownership | Corporate or personal, enrolment mode | Set by the provisioning path | Set by the enrolment path |
| Assignment | User, device group, site | Recorded by Otukan at enrolment | Recorded by Otukan at enrolment |
| Management state | Policy status, last check-in | Reported by the device policy controller | Reported in response to management queries |
The columns are not mirror images. Each platform decides what an administrator may read in each mode, and Otukan follows those rules rather than filling gaps with guesses.
Ownership decides the view
On a corporate-owned device, the organisation sees the full managed picture. On a personally owned device, the record stops at the work profile or the managed apps and accounts. This keeps inventory useful for support and audit while leaving personal data where it belongs.
Freshness
A device record is a report, not a live feed. Otukan makes the difference visible.
- Reported state. What the device told the management service at its last check-in, shown with that time.
- Requested refresh. An administrator asks an online device to report again, and the record updates when it answers.
- Stale state. Values older than the group’s expected check-in interval are marked, and the device joins the stale list.
- Offline state. A device out of contact keeps its last known values, labelled with their age, until it reconnects.
This matters most when a decision rests on the record. A help desk operator confirming an app version, or an auditor checking policy status on a given date, can see exactly how old the answer is. For the audit trail of administrator actions, see MDM audit reporting.
Operations
The inventory earns its keep in daily work: finding a device, grouping a problem and handing evidence to someone else.
Search and grouping
Administrators filter by any recorded field, such as model, OS version, group, policy status or last check-in, and combine filters to isolate a problem. A filter can be saved as a view: “Android devices behind on patch level at the northern sites”, for example, becomes a list the regional team opens every morning.
Views for each team
The same records answer different questions for different people, and each team keeps its own saved views.
- Help desk. One user’s devices, their managed apps and the last check-in, found by searching the user’s name while the caller is still on the line.
- Security. Devices behind on OS version or patch level, or with a policy that failed to apply.
- Procurement and planning. Models and ages by unit, ahead of a hardware refresh.
Export and its limits
Authorised roles export a view for audit, planning or an asset register. An export contains only the fields and device groups that role is permitted to see, so a regional administrator cannot export the whole fleet, and personal-device fields stay out unless your policy explicitly allows them. Exports reflect the recorded state at the moment of export, with each value’s report time included.
Inventory then drives action: a stale or non-compliant device can be locked, restarted or re-enrolled. Those actions are covered on MDM remote device management. The other management workflows, from setup to retirement, are covered on device management capabilities.
Inventory is one part of Otukan mobile device management, which is covered on the product overview.