Effective endpoint management has become increasingly challenging due to today’s more distributed workplaces, a disparate mix of devices driven by support for user preference and BYOD initiatives, as well as the growing threat of cyberattacks.
Comprehensive endpoint management solutions can provide much-needed relief for overworked IT teams, ensure a better user experience, improve security posture, and reduce costs. Let’s take a close look.
The early stages of endpoint management
In its early stages, endpoint management was focused primarily on Windows PCs, servers, VMs, networking devices, storage and other necessary infrastructure that enabled users to remain as productive as possible, and at the same time, defend against bad actors.
Tools required to support this Windows-centric landscape were highly effective. However, as organizations began to offer more flexible work styles (i.e., choice of PC vs. Mac, use of mobile devices, flexible remote/hybrid work options, etc.) to attract, hire and retain top-tier talent, effective endpoint management became much more challenging.
Additional tools were required for mobile device management, patching for multiple operating systems and third-party applications, remote support, backup, etc. Plus, the push to transition from legacy on-prem solutions to SaaS as a cost-saving measure added even more fuel to the management complexity fire and security concerns increased even more.
Endpoint management today
IT professionals are under constant pressure to ensure maximum productivity, provide high quality support and deliver the best possible user experience (regardless of user location, role or device type) – without sacrificing security. This ongoing battle often leads to a diverse mix of tools and the creation of data silos. These add to complexity and costs, reduce IT efficiency, increase the potential for security blind spots, and often lead to dissatisfied users and burned-out technicians.
The good news? A comprehensive endpoint management solution enables even lean and less experienced IT teams to more efficiently manage the devices their users rely on to support a variety of workflows. Cloud-native, as opposed to on-prem solutions enable easy support for users and their preferred devices regardless of location – and require little or no additional infrastructure investments.
And packing as much capability (i.e., real-time monitoring and management for all device types, patching, software deployment, backup, remote access, and more) into a single dashboard increases IT productivity. Finally, by fully-embracing available automation and thoughtful use of AI capabilities, IT efficiency and user satisfaction can be catapulted to new heights.
Going forward… continued improvements
We’ve all witnessed the incredible pace at which AI has blazed a trail into so many aspects of our lives – both personal and professional. Our desire for faster and more informed decision making is insatiable. And this need for speed is no different for overworked and often underappreciated IT teams. As AI continues to impress onlookers with its amazing feats, it will find its way into a growing number of IT workflows – including more of those supported by endpoint management solutions.
In fact, AI will remain the driving force behind recently defined Autonomous Endpoint Management (AEM) which takes traditional endpoint management to new levels by completely removing the necessity for any manual intervention from workflows such as remediation for non-compliant devices, patching, role-based access and policy enforcement, vulnerability remediation, and much more.
Why NinjaOne is worth a look
NinjaOne is a cloud-native platform designed to automate and streamline endpoint management across organizations of any size. The platform simplifies tasks such as patch management and system monitoring, helping teams boost productivity, strengthen security posture, and cut operational costs.
Today, NinjaOne enables IT teams of all experience levels the ability to leverage AI to understand the purpose, impact, and community sentiment of Windows updates—all in one place—so they can deploy with clarity and confidence.
Going forward, NinjaOne will continue to introduce powerful, human-centric AI capabilities that provide IT teams and technicians with AI-driven intelligence to make better decisions in areas such as ticket and remote session summarization, suggested remediations and natural language search.
Introduction of agentic AI agents will enable automation of more complex tasks without human intervention. Trusted by over 24,000 customers in more than 130 countries, NinjaOne offers complimentary onboarding, training, and 24/7 support—unlimited and always included.