Organizations small and large are struggling with a fragmented approach to endpoint management. And if you haven’t found this struggle to echo familiarity, you may have bigger problems than I can address here.
Rather than managing and reporting on all endpoints in a holistic way, today’s marketplaces are managing different endpoint classes (PCs, servers, mobile devices) and non-traditional endpoints (ATMs, kiosks, and POS systems), with a wide range of tools—and sometimes with completely different IT teams. On top of that, they may use a variety of tools for different environments (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.), as well as for different lifecycle functions (configuration, security enforcement, patching automation, etc.). This system of management is becoming extremely inefficient.
As the number and diversity of endpoints has expanded, so too has management complexity—a consequence of the multitude of patchwork solutions being used. With a growing mobile workforce, industry analysts and IT organizations have realized that this fragmented approach is not scalable. Wouldn’t it be much simpler and cost-effective to manage and report on all enterprise endpoints through a unified, single-pane-of-glass?
Unified endpoint management (UEM) is the solution to IT’s fragmented endpoint management issue. This full lifecycle management of endpoints allows organizations to utilize one single vendor and systems management platform to support a diverse and ever-growing deployment environment.
VDC Research recently released a full report on the business value of UEM solutions, in addition to discussing the top businesses innovating in the space. In this report, VDC Research analyzed survey data from over 90 IT decision-makers, who either had direct involvement in purchasing and/or using endpoint management solutions within their organization. It’s a veritable smorgasbord of information that makes a serious business case for switching to UEM solutions.
What Does UEM Have That My Current Solution Lacks?
UEM solutions are proponents of endpoint agnosticism. This frees you and your organization from the confinements of one solution that can only handles one set of devices. We want choices, and with the boom of mobility and IoT devices in the enterprise, IT will need to plan to encompass all endpoints under one roof.
Furthermore, endpoint agnosticism provides IT with the ability to compile data from all sources across network elements, data on email and web gateways, mobile devices, software and applications, virtual environments, and the cloud in order to gain knowledge about the endpoint environment, identify potential threats, and enable the ability to enforce consistency in policies.
While traditional/PC management solutions solely specialize in PCs, servers and virtual environments, a growing number of companies need a more forward-thinking approach that manages all endpoints, with the ability to scale. Given the proliferation of mobile devices and tablets in the workplace, these additional varied endpoints have caused companies to fragment management in order to encapsulate both, which is neither cost-effective nor secure.
Even with this rather apparent need for multi-endpoint management, few solutions have emerged that are truly implementing an effective, worthwhile endpoint management strategy for both traditional and mobile endpoints. VDC stresses the operational and cost efficiencies that UEM solutions provide, which exceed the limitations of two separate management tools. Along with the shared use of hardware, people, resources, and policy infrastructure, UEM offers IT admins with improved organization-wide mobility that encompasses all endpoint devices – one endpoint management solution to rule them all.[su_box title=”About Accelerite” style=”noise” box_color=”#336588″]
Accelerite is a global product company that delivers enterprise solutions for endpoint management, cloud, and mobility to organizations of all sizes — from small businesses to Fortune 500 enterprises. Through its award-winning partner program and partnerships with HP and Dell, Accelerite helps organizations solve business-critical IT problems. Accelerite is the products business of Persistent Systems (BSE & NSE: PERSISTENT), a global leader in software product development and technology services, with 8,000 team members worldwide.[/su_box]
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