Endpoint units have change into so ubiquitous, linked, and data-intensive that they’re among the many most precious know-how belongings a corporation has at the moment. They’re additionally among the largest safety dangers. It’s no shock, then, that managing the massive and rising variety of smartphones, laptops, tablets, desktops, and different end-user merchandise is a excessive precedence for IT.For a rising variety of enterprises, unified endpoint administration (UEM) is the strategy of alternative for maintaining administration of endpoints from descending into chaos. UEM platforms are designed to simplify the administration of units and improve the safety of heterogeneous environments.Among the important thing promoting factors of UEM is that it’s preferable to utilizing a mess of disparate mobility administration instruments that may find yourself growing prices and reducing effectivity for corporations.UEM platforms are principally software program suites that provide a single administration interface for endpoint units inside a corporation. The know-how advanced from and in lots of circumstances is changing cellular gadget administration (MDM) and enterprise mobility administration (EMM) instruments.MDM merchandise management cellular gadget performance and embrace options similar to gadget enrollment, distant management, gadget lockdown, and site monitoring; EMM supplies these options in addition to cellular info administration, cellular utility administration, and cellular content material administration.UEM broadens the enterprise administration spectrum to incorporate not solely cellular units, but additionally desktop and laptop computer computer systems, printers, wearables, and web of issues (IoT) units by way of a single administration console.As extra individuals work remotely or in hybrid work environments — in lots of circumstances utilizing private units — and as extra corporations launch IoT and edge computing initiatives, UEM has change into much more helpful for enterprises.How to decide on UEM softwareAlthough UEM platforms from main distributors may need so much in frequent, no two choices are fully alike. Enterprises have to do their homework when evaluating the choices accessible — and it is necessary to remember that UEM is a comparatively new know-how idea that is nonetheless evolving.Given how necessary endpoint administration is to a corporation, it may be a good suggestion to conduct a proof of idea or a pilot take a look at earlier than committing to a broad rollout. Making a shift in distributors later within the course of might be troublesome and expensive. Most main UEM distributors provide 30-day free trials of their software program.A pilot program can also be a great way to find out which options and capabilities are most important to the corporate. Testing out a number of platforms, if doable, supplies a method to make direct comparisons.10 standards for selecting a UEM platformWhen evaluating UEM choices, remember to pay explicit consideration to those key elements:1. Operating system assist. This provides a way of the breadth of the UEM device throughout Windows, iOS, macOS, Android, and Chrome working techniques, says Andrew Hewitt, a senior analyst at Forrester Research. “Enterprises are increasingly looking to satisfy the need for employee choice, especially when it comes to device operating systems,” he says. “The more a UEM supports, the more likely the enterprise can satisfy that need.”Certain platforms assist numerous working techniques with various ranges of granularity and options, says Phil Hochmuth, program vp, enterprise mobility, at IDC. “Some vendors focus specifically on a certain operating system, such as Apple or Android,” he says.2. Support for bring-your-own-device (BYOD) applications. This functionality supplies a sign of particular investments the UEM supplier has made in iOS User Enrollment or Android Enterprise, Hewitt says.“Because of shortages in devices over the past year, we’ve seen a rise in BYOD deployments,” he says. “The native enrollment models for BYOD from both Apple and Google provide a baseline of security in an easy-to-enroll fashion, making it much smoother for organizations to get devices into the hands of employees.”3. Integration with different IT merchandise. Partnerships a vendor has with different platforms used to assist IT or finish customers usually is one other key consideration. “How well does the UEM platform integrate with your ticketing system or your security information and login platform, or your endpoint security product?” Hochmuth asks. “Many of the larger vendors now offer you UEM along with other products such as these, and have strong integration stories there.”4. Device safety insurance policies. Companies want to have the ability to set insurance policies relating to issues like jailbreaking, root detection, password setting, cellular menace detection, malware detection, anti-phishing, and so forth, Hewitt says. “Because data now lives outside the four walls of the enterprise, ensuring device security for mobile devices is even more important,” he says. These varieties of options allow organizations to make sure that there isn’t any compromise in cellular safety.Also necessary from a safety standpoint is integration with identification and entry administration, distant entry, and endpoint safety instruments “to support dynamic policy and contextual access as well as novel authentication methods,” says Dan Wilson, senior director analyst at Gartner.5. Management automation. Organizations are more and more trying to save on prices relating to deploying units, as a result of it’s an undifferentiated exercise inside their aggressive environments, Hewitt says. These capabilities permit a completely automated deployment to happen rapidly, which suggests workers get units sooner and directors spend much less time on deployment.6. Mobile utility administration (MAM)-only assist. Can the seller assist a non-MDM deployment, the place an organization solely manages apps? “Not every organization can get all of its employees to enroll an MDM, for both privacy and technical reasons,” Hewitt says. “MAM is a good option for privacy-minded employees, because the organization has no access to their device, just corporate apps.”The means to supply standalone administration of purposes on unmanaged units, in addition to utility and knowledge containment, is necessary, Wilson says. This contains “capabilities to segregate or isolate personal and corporate data,” he says.7. Pricing. Pricing is all the time a key consideration for any know-how funding, particularly one which impacts so many customers. “Some UEM platforms can be had for relatively low cost if bundled with other [products] sold by the vendor, or depending on the licensing model for certain software products,” Hochmuth says.“In general, look for a per-user pricing model as opposed to a per-device pricing model, as most end users are accessing multiple devices to do work and will need more than one device managed and secured,” Hochmuth advises.8. Regulatory compliance certifications. Offering certifications for initiatives such because the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP), which supplies a standardized strategy to safety authorizations for cloud service choices, is necessary for presidency prospects and others in regulated industries. Some organizations have distinctive necessities for compliance with guidelines such because the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and FedRAMP, Hewitt says.“Customers in government and financial services generally look for these types of certifications, because they verify that the UEM in question has been tested and secured,” he says.9. Conditional entry. Can the UEM implement conditional entry insurance policies throughout units, apps, networks, and so on? Conditional entry is the muse of any mobility technique, Hewitt says. It permits organizations to look throughout a mess of situations to determine whether or not particular person workers can entry a useful resource. If any of the situations are noncompliant, entry is blocked.10. Support for distant environments. Many individuals will proceed to earn a living from home or different distant areas, at the least a part of the time, for the foreseeable future. So it’s necessary that UEM platforms can assist a distant and hybrid workforce. This permits IT directors to troubleshoot each conventional and cellular endpoints in distant areas, bettering consumer expertise and limiting downtime for workers, Hewitt says.13 key UEM distributorsThe main gamers within the UEM market are largely the identical ones which have held management positions within the MDM/EMM section. They embrace among the largest software program corporations on the earth.To get you began in your analysis, listed here are temporary descriptions of the key platforms accessible. You can even obtain an in depth comparability chart exhibiting the options and capabilities provided by eight main EMM/UEM distributors.42Gears: 42Gears UEM helps Android, iOS, MacOS, Windows, and Linux, and is designed to make it simpler for enterprises emigrate from legacy platforms similar to Windows 7 to an EMM-compliant model similar to Windows 10. It affords a single platform to handle all endpoints, together with desktops/laptops, employee-owned units, IoT units, sensors and gateways, ruggedized units, wearables, and printers.BlackBerry: BlackBerry UEM is a multi-platform system that gives gadget, app, and content material administration with built-in safety and connectivity, and helps organizations handle iOS, macOS, Android, Windows 10, and BlackBerry 10 units. Key options embrace a single consumer interface, safe IP connectivity, consumer self-service, role-based administration, and firm listing integration.Cisco Meraki: Systems Manager, Meraki’s cloud-based UEM platform, supplies central provisioning, monitoring, and securing of all endpoint units inside a corporation, whereas maintaining the enterprise community conscious of continually altering units. The platform helps administration of iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Chrome OS, and tvOS environments. The Meraki cloud dashboard permits configuration and monitoring from a single console.Citrix: Citrix Endpoint Management (previously XenMobile) permits organizations to stock, handle, and safe a spread of gadget sorts with a single administration console. In addition to iOS and Android, Citrix supplies administration and controls for Windows 10, macOS, Chrome OS, skinny shoppers, and Workspace Hub gadget sorts, utilizing XenMobile as its basis. It affords endpoint provisioning and configuration controls for gadget enrollment, coverage utility, and entry privileges.HCL Technologies: The vendor’s BigFix 10 endpoint administration platform permits organizations to completely automate discovery, administration, and remediation of endpoint points, no matter location or connectivity. Features embrace BigFix Insights, which lets organizations rapidly visualize dangers in addition to prices, and multicloud administration, which provides directors  360-degree visibility, management, and compliance enforcement of each cloud and on-premises endpoints.IBM: IBM Security MaaS360 with Watson is a cloud-based UEM platform that allows organizations to safe smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktops, wearables, and IoT units. Watson synthetic intelligence (AI) and predictive analytics present alerts to potential endpoint threats and remediation to keep away from safety breaches and disruptions. MaaS360 protects apps, content material, and knowledge.Ivanti: Ivanti Unified Endpoint Manager is designed to simplify enterprise mobility, making use of insurance policies and personalization throughout all units. (Ivanti bought MobileIron, one other main EMM/UEM vendor, in 2020.) Companies can use the system’s synthetic intelligence to find out which customers and units get what sort of entry. The platform helps Windows, macOS, Linux, Unix, iOS, and Android working techniques. Administrators can collect detailed gadget knowledge, automate software program and working system deployments, personalize workspace environments, and tackle consumer points.ManageEngine: ManageEngine Desktop Central, a UEM platform from the IT administration division of Zoho Corp., helps organizations handle servers, laptops, desktops, smartphones, and tablets from a central location. Enterprises can automate endpoint administration routines similar to putting in patches, deploying software program, and imaging and deploying working techniques. The platform additionally supplies administration of IT belongings and software program licenses, distant desktop management, and software program utilization monitoring. It helps Windows, macOS, Linux, Chrome OS, Android, iOS, iPadOS, and tvOS.Matrix42: Matrix42 Unified Endpoint Management helps Windows, macOS, Chrome OS, Android, iOS, and iPadOS and might be accessed from the cloud, on-premises, or in a hybrid setting. The platform supplies computerized deployment of units and purposes, real-time reviews and evaluation on utilization, and entry management for purposes and delicate knowledge. Data is encrypted on cellular units, and private and enterprise knowledge are separated on BYOD units.Microsoft: Microsoft Endpoint Manager contains each Configuration Manager and Microsoft Intune, a cloud-native administration device for Windows and macOS desktops and cellular units that gives MDM and MAM. Enterprises can configure particular insurance policies to regulate purposes, similar to stopping emails from being despatched to individuals outdoors the group. On private units, Intune helps make certain a corporation’s knowledge stays protected and might isolate group knowledge from private knowledge.Sophos: Sophos Mobile helps the administration of Windows 10, macOS, iOS, and Android units, offering configuration and insurance policies, stock and asset administration, and detailed reporting on gadget utilization. Organizations can set up, take away and think about apps, use containers to handle content material, present compliance guidelines and remediation, and defend in opposition to threats similar to malware and phishing.SOTI: The SOTI One Platform permits corporations to securely handle any gadget or endpoint, together with IoT units, with any type issue all through its total lifecycle. Supported OSes embrace Windows 10, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, iPadOS, Windows Mobile, Zebra, and extra. The platform options SOTI Assist, a diagnostic assist desk device that lets technicians analyze, troubleshoot, and resolve cellular gadget and app points from anyplace at any time.VMware: VMware Workspace ONE is a cloud-based platform for managing desktop, cellular, rugged, wearable, and IoT units. It helps working environments together with Android, iOS, Windows 10, macOS, and Chrome OS. The platform affords knowledge safety in opposition to safety threats with conditional entry and compliance insurance policies, with a Privacy Guard function designed to handle privateness insurance policies.Related: Download our 2021 EMM/UEM vendor comparability chart

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