Digital transformation has changed the game for every business in the world over the past decade. The migration to the cloud, the advent of the Internet of Things, and ubiquitous wireless networks have enabled companies to innovate by implementing flexible business models and mobilising their business processes. But this has also brought with it a range of complexities for companies to manage.
As companies accelerate digital transformation, they need to deploy solutions such as mobile device management (MDM), unified endpoint management (UEM) and mobile and cloud expense management (MEM/CEM) to simplify the management of their end-user computing environments. Endpoint computing is evolving at a rapid pace, challenging enterprises and MDM, UEM and MEM vendors to keep up.
Here’s a guide to five important endpoint computing trends every enterprise needs to watch:
- Endpoint management meets endpoint security
Many IT teams are looking to simplify their technology stacks, and the increasing convergence of MDM and UEM is just the start. Lines are beginning to blur between UEM and endpoint security, as solutions with elements of both start to come to market.
We’re starting to see smarter solutions that offer features such as real-time vulnerability monitoring and instant remediation, in addition to traditional MDM/UEM functionality such as device enrolment, configuration and monitoring; policy enforcement; and remote tracking, management and wiping of devices.
- Identity-based attacks rise as a major threat
With companies tightening their protection against malware, attackers are adapting. One technique they’re using to devastating effect in a world of hybrid work is identity-based attacks. These attacks, which take advantage of stolen user credentials, can take weeks or months to detect. Companies are adopting cutting edge self-healing endpoint technologies and AI-driven identity threat protection solutions to combat the threat. Self-healing endpoints can identify breach attempts and act to stop them. They can isolate themselves from the network, download any necessary or updates, and restart with a secure configuration.
- Automation takes the strain off the IT team
Manual monitoring, management and support of endpoints still takes up too much of the average IT team’s time. But tools such as MEM/CEM and MDM/UEM are constantly becoming smarter and more automated. Many basic tasks associated with managing mobile devices and PCs are already largely hands-off for IT and operations teams. However, there are still opportunities for enterprises to streamline and simplify further by leveraging MDM/UEM solutions that offer a more complete view of their devices and environments from a single console.
- A shift to a whole lifecycle approach
Companies are increasingly using their MDM/UEM and MEM solutions to become smarter about managing device lifecycles, from purchase and enrolment to configuration, maintenance, and management, then finally retirement and replacement. Gaining better visibility and control over their device fleets supports the goal of maximising ROI and minimising cost of ownership, while also helping companies to ensure that they dispose of obsolete IT assets in an environmentally sound manner.
- Data-driven decision-making changes the game
Knowledgeable IT and finance teams see the deployment of MDM/UEM and MEM/CEM solutions as enablers for smarter management of endpoint computing. Data from MDM/UEM can provide powerful insights about end-user productivity and experience as well as about security gaps and performance issues in the workspace computing environment. MEM/CEM, meanwhile, offers insight into where cloud and telecoms spending is being wasted, how costs can be optimised, and what the spending forecast for the future is.
How to simplify endpoint computing
Variable cloud and endpoint computing costs are complex and unpredictable to manage without the right tools and controls to guide spending and operations. 1Nebula is a leader in building innovative technology solutions that accelerate digital transformation. Talk to us to find out how our knowledgeable team can help you simplify your ICT environment through cutting edge practices.