Your colleagues now work from everywhere on multiple devices. As an IT pro, you no longer know where your network perimeter is, and every device is a potential gateway for cyberattacks.
If this keeps you up at night, you’re not alone. Many organizations face the same concerns and have recognized that legacy device security strategies are no longer sufficient to meet the threat landscape we face today.
In this article, we explain why endpoint management has changed, what a modern endpoint solution looks like, and how a modern endpoint management solution can help your company secure devices inside and outside the network perimeter.
Managing endpoints – everywhere – is tough, but necessary.
Endpoint management can include any user device, such as laptops and mobile devices, but also encompasses a variety of shared connected devices used for tracking, inventory, printing, manufacturing, and more.
Device management is becoming increasingly important as cybersecurity threats rise, and there are now simply many more opportunities for bad actors to compromise devices:
- Devices are routinely used outside the company’s premises and network perimeter
- Hackers constantly revise social engineering to exploit human weaknesses
- Personal devices often lack adequate security
- Remote endpoints often have deep access to company data
But managing endpoints can be challenging for IT teams who may not yet have developed a robust security posture and governance framework.
Adding to the challenge, outdated tools and methodologies are inefficient and time-consuming, making it challenging to keep a device fleet uniformly patched and compliant. These older approaches sap critical resources and add pressure. When an organization gets a little behind the ball, the door is left open for:
- On-device malware and ransomware infections
- Phishing and social engineering
- Unpatched software vulnerabilities that enable security breaches
- Compromise of user credentials leading to unauthorized access
- Threat exposure as users connect via unsecured or public networks
What’s more, compliance obligations such as HIPAA and PCI DSS now apply to a broad range of companies. Poor endpoint management can put your company at risk of a compliance violation, which can lead to business and financial risk.
What should device management accomplish?
So what does effective endpoint management t look like in practice? It helps organizations to:
- Enable hybrid and remote work, allowing employees to work anywhere from any device, without compromising security
- Improve efficiency by replacing traditional imaging and setup processes with a more automated, more consistent process with fewer support tickets and downtime
- Meet compliance mandates through native support for real-time, responsive enforcement of security and compliance policies
- Provide self-service IT where possible, so users benefit from automated configuration and updates, with the option to take actions in a self-service portal
It’s no surprise, then, that companies are heavily investing in modern device management – with the endpoint management market set to grow at 26.5% per year through 2032.
What defines modern endpoint management?
Modern endpoint management is now moving towards cloud-native solutions and unified endpoint management, using platforms such as Microsoft Intune. It looks roughly like this:
- Architecture: Modern endpoint management embraces a cloud-first, API-based architecture and uses native, OS-vetted MDM frameworks. The results are better scalability and tighter integration with identity and access systems, allowing identity-driven security.
- Layered approach: Hardening the endpoint against a defined industry baseline is the foundational layer of device security, supporting further defense by adding Managed Endpoint Detection and Response (MEDR) tools, conditional access, and more.
- Automation: Manual processes such as device setup, system patching, and software deployment become largely automated. That goes for application deployment and security settings too, so there’s less manual work for your in-house IT team.
- Improved responsiveness: With native cloud connectivity, admins can remotely lock or wipe devices if a device is lost or stolen and enforce compliance actions wherever the device resides.
A modern endpoint management solution also benefits the end user experience through self-service portals that allow users to install approved applications or reset their passwords, so users waste less time waiting for authorizations.
The ROI of modern endpoint management
Modern endpoint management is simply more comprehensive and therefore more secure. That gets your company far tighter defenses around your information assets, but it also saves your technical experts time, while keeping your users happy:
- Timely patches and continuous monitoring mean better security
- Robust policies and centralized control keep your organization compliant
- Employees benefit from quick support and properly configured devices
In justifying initial investment, it is easy to build a case that modern endpoint management reduces IT operational expenses through automation.
But arguably the biggest factor is preventing the risk of breaches – given that the average cost of breaches runs into the millions (IBM). Not to mention the risk of compliance fines. The resulting net benefit, relative to the investment, demonstrates clear ROI.
The M365 Value Proposition
Microsoft has made impressive investments in building an end-to-end ecosystem including Azure cloud services, Entra ID, Office 365 including SharePoint and Teams, Intune and Windows Autopilot, and much more. To overcome the value proposition of that integrated ecosystem, a competing MDM solution would need to be much, much better than Intune—and that has become a difficult prospect for Microsoft’s competitors. M365 is already in use by many organizations, making the embrace of Intune a natural extension.
All Covered’s M365 Modern Endpoint – Intune as a Service
M365 Modern Endpoint is a fully managed service that simplifies endpoint management across Windows, iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and Android. Leveraging Microsoft Intune, Autopilot, and additional technologies, this service provides secure, cloud-based provisioning, policy enforcement, application management, and endpoint protection. It is your foundational layer for endpoint security and critical to device management.
Value Proposition
By bringing established security and compliance baselines to bear on the customer environment – combined with our expertise, the service:
- Automates device provisioning and updates, reducing IT overhead.
- Empowers real-time from-anywhere conformance to security policies and business requirements.
- Delivers endpoint hardening supported by advanced baselines as the first step to a layered security model.
- Reduces total cost of ownership by eliminating traditional on-prem management overhead.
Key Features & Capabilities
- Zero-Touch Deployment: Automates device provisioning with Autopilot.
- Cloud-Based Policy Management: Enforces security and compliance with Intune.
- Application Deployment & Patching: Seamlessly manages app installations and updates.
- Foundational Endpoint Security: Supports best practices with standards-based industry baselines.
Consider All Covered for Enterprise-Grade Endpoint Security
M365 Modern Endpoint is a vital cornerstone to your security strategy, but as an MSP and MSSP, All Covered also offers a comprehensive set of defensive and offensive security services to complete the layered security model that today’s threat landscape demands.
When your network perimeter is everywhere, embracing a cloud-native, automated endpoint management toolset is a must to fortify your defensive foundation, ensure compliance, and empower a secure, productive workforce. See how All Covered can help you get it all set up, or download our infographic to learn how All Covered’s M365 Modern Endpoint can save you both time and money.
