In the Kaseya 2019 State of IT Operations Survey Report for Small and Midsize Businesses, more than half the respondents came from organizations with five or fewer IT professionals. In smaller enterprises, multi-functional IT technicians wear many hats during the day. They are responsible for:
- Managing endpoints to maintain system uptime
- Resolving IT incidents and closing service tickets
- Monitoring backups and restores
- Overseeing endpoint security via software patching and antivirus/anti-malware (AV/AM) deployments
It’s a tall order; IT teams need to be on their toes 24/7 to deliver efficient IT operations and keep the business running smoothly. And, of course, these responsibilities are closely aligned with the top three IT priorities reported in the IT operations survey — IT security, reducing IT costs, and delivering higher service levels.
When it comes to endpoint security, there are multiple products on the market that provide antivirus, anti-malware, backup and disaster recovery, patch management, and other services. However, managing a lot of non-integrated point tools can overwhelm IT teams that are already stretched thin.
A better approach is to use an endpoint management tool that is integrated with backup and security tools. This allows your team to work in a single console to manage and secure all your endpoints.
Comprehensive Endpoint Management
One of the primary requirements of a business looking to efficiently manage its IT infrastructure is an endpoint management tool that monitors and manages all endpoints, including network devices, workstations, and servers, as well as cloud resources. It should provide the following capabilities:
Remote Management: Remote monitoring and management (RMM) capabilities are a must-have for any endpoint management tool. You should be able to remotely access devices, without inconveniencing the end-users and troubleshoot IT issues.
Network & Domain Discovery: Your endpoint management tool should discover all devices on your network, as well as find and sync with Active Directory domains. It should provide detailed visibility of:
- Comprehensive hardware asset information that includes manufacturer, model and serial numbers, CPU, RAM, chassis type and more.
- Complete software information that includes operating system, installed software applications with product name, manufacturer, version, edition, license information, directory path and more.
Automation: You should be able to automate installation, deployment and updates of software and patches. Your endpoint management solution should enable:
- Policy-driven automation for standardization of endpoint management for different categories of devices across the IT environment.
- Automation of routine tasks such as maintenance processes, monitoring and remediation of IT incidents.
- Scheduled software updates/patching.
Endpoint Management Tool Integrated With Antivirus/Anti-malware (AV/AM) Solutions
Your endpoint management solution should allow you to see the status of each asset with regard to AV/AM endpoint protection. A key requirement is integrating with industry-leading AV/AM vendors, such as Bitdefender, Webroot, Kaspersky, and others.
With such integration you get:
- Easy configuration, deployment, and management of AV/AM on all devices from the endpoint management tool user interface (UI).
- Complete visibility into the antivirus status of devices.
- Comprehensive endpoint protection from malicious cyberattacks.
Endpoint Management Tool Integrated With Backup and Disaster Recovery Solutions
Security and protection of endpoints cannot be guaranteed without a backup and disaster recovery solution. Empower your IT teams with an endpoint management solution that allows your team to manage backups from the same console.
Your endpoint management tool should:
- Manage all your backups from the endpoint management tool console.
- Backup your endpoint data to appliances and/or the cloud.
- Ensure instant recoveries for Microsoft Hyper-V and VMware environments.
- Integrate with a SaaS application data backup solution to protect the wealth of data you have in Office 365, Google Docs and Salesforce.
- Display backup dashboards that show whether you are meeting the recovery time objectives (RTO) and recovery point objectives (RPO) your organization has set for a given application and data set.
Manage and Secure Your Endpoints with Kaseya VSA
Kaseya VSA is an endpoint and network management solution that enables you to discover and manage all your on/off-network endpoints, automate common IT processes, and remotely troubleshoot end-user devices.
It ensures maximum endpoint security by leveraging the power of Bitdefender, Webroot, Kaspersky, and other AV/AM solutions across workstations and servers.
You can also manage backup and recovery from within VSA, using Kaseya Unified Backup.
To learn more about the key requirements for endpoint management solutions, please read our eBook Top 10 Requirements for Modern Endpoint Management Tools.
