PCs, mobile devices, printers, IoT, bring your own device (BYOD), the number of endpoints IT teams must keep track of now is mind-boggling. The average enterprise manages tens of thousands. Anything that connects to a network is a security vulnerability, but it goes beyond that. If they’re not all kept up to date and running smoothly, it leads to costly downtime. That’s why new research from Stratix is troubling. A survey of IT leaders found that 30 percent of endpoints in companies are not adequately managed. 

That’s a shocking statistic when you consider that just one undermanaged device can be an entry point for hackers looking to cause mischief. So why are so many endpoints slipping through the cracks? Our research also found that 94 percent of organizations are juggling multiple endpoint management platforms. 

Six percent had one platform, while the majority averaged between two and four.  

As companies have deployed new technology platforms over the years, each commonly came with its own mobile device management (MDM) platform. That’s snowballed into unnecessarily complex management environments where IT teams have to go to each platform to do routine IT tasks like patches and updates. The lack of comprehensive platforms also explains why 30 percent of endpoints don’t get the attention they need. 

The solution is unified endpoint management (UEM), which is a holistic strategy for managing every single endpoint in an organization from one place. SOTI’s One Platform is a good example of how organizations can improve IT operations with UEM. It gives complete control and visibility of all mobile devices, including smartphones, tablets, computers, rugged devices, printers, and more. 

Our research found that 90 percent of IT leaders know about the benefits of UEM. So why aren’t they taking advantage? Many organizations are limited by small IT teams and a lack of expertise, so there’s an inability to improve despite the understanding that they could if they consolidated everything into a holistic UEM platform. 

You’d think that would mean more would outsource endpoint management, but the majority don’t. Nearly 60 percent do it themselves. 

Reasons included quality concerns, lack of control, communication barriers, and cost. But when we asked companies that do outsource why they’re satisfied with their provider, all of those concerns were addressed. Their answers included: 

• Cost-effective  
• Provide certified experts  
• Improve our policies 
• Great response times 
• Streamline, good quality, reliable 
• Frees me up 

The data shows it’s important for organizations to ask around before choosing a managed services provider, but when they have a relationship with a good one, they are able to reduce costs, cover more endpoints, and leverage more features of the platform strategically. 

Whether they outsource or do it themselves, companies need to improve their endpoint management strategies because having 30 percent undermanaged is not acceptable. 

Interested in an analysis of your endpoint management? Reach out to Stratix today.

Stratix Research Shows Most Companies Have Worrying Endpoint Management Vulnerabilities

Read the full research report we did in partnership with SOTI, where we dive in deeper to examine why organizations aren't doing better in this area.

Read Research Report