The biggest business success stories of the pandemic quickly adapted to remote/hybrid working models. They optimised their workplaces by putting endpoints at the centre of their operations (i.e., the apps., devices, and operating systems used daily to keep their business running).

Going forward, IT agility will remain an essential survival skill businesses must foster to stay competitive. Complexity in IT systems (such as siloed workflows) represents a massive obstacle to companies looking to remain viable for the long term.

Additionally, IT leaders must consider that the workforce is now distributed and includes elastic employees. Elastic employees may only require limited enterprise IT access based on their niche business needs. Consequently, distributed and elastic workforces cause significant issues for IT leaders, such as managing Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies. This includes managing the fluid use of corporate and personal devices in a way which secures data without the user experience suffering while ensuring IT management is easy.

Modern endpoint management tools can provide your business with a seamless user experience. With proper endpoint management, you can maximise productivity without compromising your security and compliance needs.

This article will discuss how Zero Trust is built-in to modern endpoint management and how our pure-play Microsoft security operations centre can help your business deploy a robust modern endpoint management strategy. A strategy that doesn’t compromise productivity or security, and places IT systems as the ‘hero’ and driver of unlocking new ways of working, opening up new business opportunities. If we understand that today’s workplace is the endpoint, then we are better able to support the business and reimagine how we manage endpoints, and enable the types of business scenarios that play out in the workplace as our working styles and settings continue to evolve.

Your endpoint is now the workplace

We’ve learnt a lot of lessons over the last two years as work has transformed. The greatest learning is that the endpoint, meaning  our devices, apps, and operating systems really are the new place of work. These endpoints are the means by which we are connected and take part in activities in the workplace, and this is why endpoints are more important than ever. We have up to this point created a secure, productive and enjoyable work environment, and now need to give the same attention to endpoints, as they are where employees experience their work. With this approach, we can better reimagine how we manage these endpoints and optimise them to enable numerous modern business scenarios.

For instance, today’s workforce is looking for ways to remain productive while working across multiple devices, ideally devices they’ve chosen themselves. They might be working across a mix of personal and corporate devices. Whether they’ve swung by the office or need to check emails on the go, employees should be able to access business data from anywhere.

The goal of modern endpoint management then is to provide the tools and IT strategies needed to achieve a seamless user experience that maximises productivity securely. Complexity is a vulnerability, so modern endpoint management leverages built in security over bolted on products or features, to simplify IT admin and drive easier management and better visibility.

Why is modern endpoint management important?

Senior leaders should take a holistic view of their IT needs as our working styles and settings continue to evolve in the coming years. From firmware to OS, to identities, apps, and the cloud – security needs to be built into the endpoint. A bolt-on approach isn’t going to work.

At the fundamental level, good endpoint management enables firms to know which network devices are functional and who has them. It also safeguards devices from malware and breaches to protect a company’s data – a problem which is becoming more frequent in the modern workplace.

To illustrate, 39% of businesses identified a cyber attack in their organisation this year alone. These figures indicate that business leaders must constantly find new methods for deterring increasingly sophisticated threat actors.

Therefore, cybersecurity is a central tenet of modern endpoint management –– and nowhere is it more crucial than businesses operating BYOD policies.

Modern Endpoint Management: BYOD Zero Trust Security

As the endpoint is now the primary medium used to interact with work tasks, creating frictionless UX becomes vital, particularly when it comes to enabling BYOD. Modern endpoint management tools ensure that you strike the perfect balance between endpoint functionality and security.

BYOD is a key UX development that encourages more employee autonomy and productivity, despite its risks to data security. That’s why IT managers must deploy endpoint management solutions that enable employees to work securely whenever and wherever they wish.

For example, IT teams should devise reliable methods for managing data compliance through BYOD usage, especially financial and personal data. Also, IT systems must facilitate fluid access to workplace tools as employees move from different devices (be they personal or business technologies).

Adopting a Zero Trust approach – never trust, always verify – within your IT network can address the increasing threat level posed by today’s digital landscape. A Zero Trust approach enables the ultimate in BYOD security and endpoint management capabilities as standard. It also complements other Modern Workplace needs, including;

• Fostering greater productivity and collaboration
• Flexibility amid evolving workplace settings and working styles
• Unlocking business use cases that may have previously been out of reach under traditional methods or on-premises IT systems
• Simplifying the endpoint lifecycle (such as when a device becomes lost or stolen)

How can Atech support my endpoint management needs?

Atech offers a pure-play Microsoft security operations centre (SOC) managed service. We can deploy modern endpoint management tools that maximise your IT systems’ ability to empower employees without compromising your security posture.

Atech can help your company benefit from:

• Enhanced compliance capabilities
• Simplified admin processes
• Optimised IT spend
• Frictionless UX
• Increased productivity
• Greater user satisfaction
• Improved security posture

Modern Endpoint Management Case Study: Octopus Energy

In a recent endpoint management case study example, Atech worked with a leading, high-growth energy firm, to help the company deploy Zero Trust security and reduce the risks posed by BYOD. The client used our Managed Microsoft Security services and Azure Virtual Desktop to protect all brand data across their 1,400-strong BYOD device network.

Thanks to our seamless endpoint management strategy, the client established a flexible, secure BYOD policy. One feature of the company’s endpoint management protocols included the ability for IT managers to safely reset company passwords and automatically wipe sensitive data from lost/stolen devices.

Endpoint management tools like Windows Endpoint Analytics and Windows Defender for Endpoint give senior leaders complete visibility of their endpoint estate. As a result, the organisation can consolidate all its security workflows into one full-width system. Atech provided the company with a modern endpoint management strategy capable of streamlining its IT infrastructure, automating endpoint lifecycles, and lowering the company’s overall BYOD licensing costs.

Gain world-leading modern endpoint management support from Atech

Access new heights of productivity and safeguard your data from today’s evolving threat landscape using modern endpoint management tools.

Atech was recently given finalist status in the 2022 Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards in Modern Endpoint Management. We were among the top four out of 3,900 applicants, meaning we’re a true global leader in Modern Endpoint Management solutions.

At the same time, we also hold a range of top-tier certifications, including CREST accreditation for our Secure Operations Centre, Advanced Specializations in Identity and Access management, as well as Threat Protection and Azure Virtual Desktop, all key elements for transforming your workplace in an evolving landscape.

If you’d like to learn about how your business is vulnerable to networked devices or want to understand where you could make productivity gains, we can help. We currently manage over 25,000 user accounts and 45,000 devices worldwide and help protect billions in assets.

Get in touch to learn more about our world-class Modern endpoint management support today.