No one can say for sure what the future workplace holds, but it’s a safe bet that many people will continue to work from home at least part of the time, while also doing some work in the corporate headquarters or other company-owned facility. This hybrid work model appeals to both employees and employers because it provides flexibility and can even reduce costs in office supplies, real estate, utilities, and other areas.
This type of environment also presents challenges. For example, how can organizations protect employee devices, provide secure access to networks and data, and ensure proper use of apps on devices and in the cloud, when workers might be shifting from location to location?
One way to make hybrid work environments easier to manage is to deploy technologies such as unified endpoint management. UEM platforms provide a central interface for managing all endpoint devices used within an organization. UEM can help companies manage mobile devices, laptops, desktops, printers, wearables, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices through a single management console.
“Accelerated adoption of remote and hybrid work has increased pressure on end-user computing groups to rapidly implement new technology, improve patching levels, and increase compliance,” says Tom Cipolla, senior director analyst, Digital Workplace Infrastructure & Operations, at research firm Gartner. “UEM tools increase the ability of these teams to respond to this pressure by unifying all device operations into one platform.”
Without a UEM approach, multiple teams are needed to coordinate activities with their own unique definitions of success, leading to unsuccessful enterprise-wide patching, slow software rollouts, and inconsistent device management practices, Cipolla says.
