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WP-Best_Ways_to_Extend_Endpoint_Managemen

can overshadow the upside. Productivity can rise for users even as it plummets for admins. MOBILE DEVICE MANAGEMENT: 4 MAIN CONSIDERATIONS Properly extending endpoint management to include mobile devices entails four administrative functions: 1. Enroll 2. Inventory 3. Configure 4. Secure For mobile devices, different considerations and practices apply to each of these functions. Enroll First, unlike the typical endpoints of PCs and other devices attached to the network, IT knows that smartphones and tablets do not run agents. So, how can IT ensure that the hardware and software used to manage endpoints can locate and connect to mobile devices? The simplest way is with an app built for the respective operating system. If the organization provides the device, it can install the app before giving it to the user. In the case of BYOD, the user should be able to install the app as easily as from an app store or internal portal. In either event, smooth, uniform enrollment is important enough to ensure that users have no excuse for not installing the app and that IT does not need to intervene for each installation. Inventory Once the devices are enrolled, admins should be able to see and report on every mobile device connected to the network. In many environments, endpoint inventories may not include mobile devices (especially personally owned devices), putting admins at a disadvantage in several ways: • Mobile devices could be accessing wireless networks or corporate resources. Every admin would want the ability to ascertain that, and seeing the 3 devices in the inventory is a fast, efficient way to do so. • Every organization should be able to quickly and satisfactorily answer the question “How many mobile devices do we own and who has them?” An inventory of endpoints that includes all owned mobile devices is useful in tracking them down. • A full endpoint inventory shows not only the traditional characteristics like make, model, OS version and update status, but also mobile-specific attributes like IMEI, secured status and whether the device has been rooted. Collecting that information in a report is instrumental as admins try to determine which platforms to support, which mobile devices are non-compliant and whether any are vulnerable. Secure No device should be on a network unless it is secure. The same endpoint management features that enforce security policies, like requiring a passcode, should extend to any mobile device that needs access to corporate resources. Every organization should be able to answer the question “How many mobile devices do we own and who has them?” Configure Managing endpoints includes being able to configure devices over the network. Even in the heterogeneous environment of multiple operating systems and mixed ownership, admins in smart companies maintain as much homogeneity as possible within platforms (OS version, patches) and across platforms (enterprise applications) for several reasons: • The ability to configure helps admins install certificates for access to corporate resources. • Admins can uniformly install and maintain the applications or apps employees need to do their job. • They can configure basic parameters for access to the network, email and global address lists. • Policies govern access based on employee attributes and need to be enforced on all devices. • Platforms and applications are continually due for updates that plug up vulnerabilities. • Admins should be able to set automated plans that roll out whenever attributes or circumstances change, without having to touch each device. The main goal of configuration is to manage mobile devices as just another kind of endpoint, regardless of the manufacturer. Of course, some policies work only with mobile devices owned by the organization. Users are less likely to allow the installation of necessary software on a device they own and less inclined to risk corporate access to personal data on the device. But if circumstances warrant, admins should retain the prerogative to lock a device, remotely wipe it, locate a lost device and reset it to factory settings to protect company data and assets. Endpoint management should enable MDM down to that level. FITTING MDM INTO EXISTING ENDPOINT MANAGEMENT Given the need to extend endpoint management to MDM, organizations face three options : 1. The ideal option would be a single product to manage all devices everywhere on the network. Such products are still rare, large, complex and cumbersome. 2. At the other end of the spectrum is the least desirable option of a dedicated MDM product. It would enroll, inventory, configure and secure all mobile devices perfectly, but it would manage them specifically as mobile devices rather than broadly as endpoints, and it would live alongside and separate from the existing endpoint management system. Single Product Managing All Devices Admins should retain the prerogative to lock a device, remotely wipe it, locate a lost device and reset it to factory settings to protect company data and assets. Dedicated MDM Product Figure 2: Three options for MDM management 3. The happy medium is a product designed to integrate with a traditional endpoint management system, fitting MDM into full endpoint management. In the third option, the lowest level of integration would allow inventory from one console. The next level up would allow inventory and control of devices from a single console. The highest level of integration would allow the organization to purchase any quantity of mobile devices it needed to manage, separately from traditional devices. But it would allow the full enrollinventory-configure-secure suite of functions through a single pane of glass, maximizing the productivity of IT admins. That highest level applies to all endpoints: PCs, laptops, smartphones, tablets, servers, printers and network devices. Complete endpoint management plugs the vulnerabilities that jeopardize security and give IT admins headaches. 4 MDM Integrated with Endpoint Management ABOUT KACE CLOUD MOBILE DEVICE MANAGER With KACE Cloud Mobile Device Manager, IT admins can protect their network from BYOD and mobile security threats. They can enroll, inventory, configure and secure mobile devices on the most common platforms. The SaaS-hosted product allows admins to take inventory, manage passwords, and locate, erase and reset mobile devices easily. The KACE Cloud Mobile Device Manager integrated with the KACE Systems Management appliance offers a comprehensive inventory of all network endpoints – traditional and mobile – from a single console. This helps customers transition smoothly to unified endpoint management of all the devices used by employees.

WP-Best_Ways_to_Extend_Endpoint_Managemen

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Redmond-Ensuring Rock-Solid Unified Endpoint Manag...

DELIVERING VALUE TO TODAY'S DIGITAL ENTERPRISE

The Key to Real-time Visibility Across IT: Start-a...

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