You’re responsible for endpoint management, endpoint security and endpoint compliance in a large organization. On vacation one day, you’re driving on a highway through a vast wind farm — maybe in Romania, California, Rajasthan, Texas, Gansu or Tamil Nadu. Thousands of wind turbines stretch for kilometers in all directions.
“What a piece of cake,” you think. “I wish my endpoints stood still all day long like that and did the same thing over and over.”
That would certainly make unified endpoint management (UEM) a lot easier for you, wouldn’t it?
Endpoint security and management used to be (almost) that simple
But it’s been a long time since the devices connected to your network stood still and all behaved the same. Their heterogeneity makes your network valuable, but it also makes it more complex and harder to manage.
We’ve published an eBook titled “Understanding Unified Endpoint Management” to give you an overview of the factors behind endpoint proliferation. It emphasizes the reasons to discover, manage and secure all types of connected devices using Quest® KACE® automated UEM solutions.
Security tops the list of concerns for IT managers — both as endpoint cybersecurity and mobile endpoint security. Your highest priority is to identify and mitigate outsider and insider threats, a process the Quest KACE Systems Deployment Appliance (SDA) addresses through automated re-imaging of endpoints from a central provisioning appliance.
The next priority is to keep systems continually updated and prevent attacks from succeeding in the first place. The Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) centralizes and automates patch management and deployment so you can push security updates to the right devices at the right time.
Regulatory and software license compliance
All organizations must comply with government regulations, industry standards and software licensing agreements. That means knowing where all of your endpoints are, what’s running on them and how they’re being used.
The only way to accomplish that is by centralizing the processes of device tracking, real-time monitoring and software asset management in a single appliance. The KACE SMA maintains inventory of all devices, identifying software that is over- or underutilized and allowing you to ensure compliance. The Quest KACE Mobile Device Manager (MDM) offers insight into all types of mobile devices from a central console so you can manage downloaded applications.
That’s how you answer the question “What are my endpoints doing?” You’ll also want to answer the question “What are my users doing?” Your devices may be in compliance, but what about your users?
Users who don’t need local administrator privileges for their jobs should not have them, but it’s hard to keep track of which users should have which privileges. The Quest KACE Privilege Manager helps ensure that only the users who need administrator rights have them. Your users can elevate and manage their own user and administrative rights in an environment that complies with the principle of least privilege and regulations like GDPR.
UEM brings uniformity to endpoint management
UEM solutions make it possible to treat all devices in an environment in the same way, regardless of form factor, operating system and location. KACE appliances allow you to specify rules and features to deploy, then inventory, configure and secure all connected devices.
Have a look at our eBook “Understanding Unified Endpoint Management” for a detailed overview of the issues involved in endpoint cybersecurity and patching, as well as endpoint compliance relating to software licenses and asset management.
It won’t make all of your endpoints stand still and behave the same like wind turbines, but it will help you see how to keep them unified, secure and in compliance.
Photo credit: Photo by Amol Mande from Pexels
