Unified IT Management: Benefits for Midsize Enterprises

INTRODUCTION

In the fourth quarter of 2018, midsize companies worldwide reported a strong annualized revenue growth rate of 7.9 percent. 1 While IT plays a crucial role in their business growth, the IT departments in midsize companies face many challenges. Among these are cybersecurity risks, compliance risks and capacity constraints. Limited IT budgets and resources exacerbate the problems.

Today's IT leaders are expected to not only manage the IT environment but also deliver innovation and improve business outcomes. It's a conflict between "keeping the lights on" and moving the business to the next level. Many midsize businesses use either overly complex large enterprise tools, like Microsoft SCCM {which is an overkill for medium-size organizations) or a number of disparate point solutions that lack integration.

Unified IT Management brings in a unified approach to managing the entire IT infrastructure from a single pane of glass. It enables enterprises to improve security and productivity to reduce risk and drive business growth.

GLOBAL IT CHALLENGES FACED BY MIDSIZE BUSINESSES

Cybersecurity and data protection rule the roost

In 2018, 4.5 billion records 2 were compromised worldwide. The average cost of a data breach was a staggering $3.86 million3 and the average cost per stolen record was $1484 . These numbers bear testimony to the fact that cyber attacks are getting worse. Every day companies face countless cyber threats from a variety of sources and unfortunately, no one is safe. Many companies have poor cybersecurity practices in place, making them vulnerable to data loss.

In Kaseya's 2018 IT Operations Survey, about 58 percent5 of midsize companies stated cybersecurity and data protection as their top concern, which was followed by legacy applications and cloud migration.

Legacy Systems and On/Off Network Devices

Outdated legacy systems can sometimes be problematic for today's patch management processes. This can make it difficult to remediate software vulnerabilities which provide a route for hackers to breach your systems. Most businesses don't want to lose access to their data and hence keep some legacy systems on "life support." About 89 percent of IT chiefs admit to using outdated applications despite knowing the security risks. Another challenge with today's modern, highly mobile, workforce is that devices {e.g. laptops and tablets) are frequently off the network. Organizations need an efficient way to manage these devices.

Limited IT budget and resources - The never-ending saga

Limited IT budgets are an issue plaguing midsize companies for years. On average, midsize businesses spend approximately 4.5 percent of their annual revenue6 on IT. About 75 percent of this is used for IT operations that "run the business" which would include the operation of multiple point solutions and managing outdated legacy systems. On average, only about 10 percent of the typical IT budget is allocated to support strategic initiatives that will help transform the business.

Another challenge midsize companies face today is the lack of IT resources, or we may say, the lack of skilled IT resources. According to CompTIA, at least eight in ten businesses are negatively impacted because of the IT skills gap. The IT budgets of midsize companies may also play a role in the gap, as it becomes difficult for companies to hire skilled resources with limited budgets.

LEADING IT PRIORITIES FOR 2019

Security Patch Management

Unpatched software vulnerabilities leave doors open to malicious attacks. Vulnerability management begins with asset discovery, which creates an inventory of all known hardware and software installed on your network. This is difficult to do manually, so automated discovery tools are required. Next, organizations need an automated patch management solution to quickly deploy critical patches released by a vendor to address these vulnerabilities. The number of vulnerabilities is constantly on the rise, so again, automation is key. In the month of February 2019 alone, Microsoft had addressed about 75 vulnerabilities and released corresponding updates for Internet Explorer and Windows operating systems.

Backup and Disaster Recovery

Backup and disaster recovery has been on the rise for the past couple of years for midsize businesses. With the growing number of cyber attacks, and in particular, ransomware attacks, most companies are prioritizing secure backup and recovery processes. In the Kaseya 2018 IT Operations survey, about 90 percent of the respondents backed up servers, 69 percent of respondents were backing up locally and offsite and about 38 percent of respondents had a disaster recovery plan in place.

Cloud Migration

Businesses from many diverse industries are prioritizing the migration of their IT infrastructure to the cloud. Cloud migration entails replacing legacy on-premises applications in favor of SaaS applications and embracing flexible and scalable Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS). Many cloud services work on pay-per-use model with the ability to scale up or down based on actual usage. This leads to increased efficiency, higher security and lowered operational costs. About two-thirds of IT leaders7 worldwide expect their cloud spending to increase this year, which shows that organizations are either investing in new cloud tools or upgrading their current solutions.

Increasing Productivity and Reducing IT Costs

Delivering higher service levels is one of the primary priorities of midsize enterprises. But improving service levels while reducing IT costs can be a tricky business. To reduce costs while increasing work efficiency, companies need to build more automated IT procedures and use tools that make manual tasks more efficient. By improving IT productivity, midsize companies can allocate more scarce resources to strategic initiatives that will help grow and transform the business.

DRAWBACKS OF TRADITIONAL APPROACHES TO MANAGING IT

Using Complex Enterprise Tools

For midsize businesses, using complex large enterprise tools like SCCM can prove to be a headache. These platforms are complex to implement and use, and require large teams to manage. They are not geared for small and medium businesses.

Using Point Solutions

The debate between best-of-breed point solutions vs a seamless platform has been an ongoing one. A typical midsize enterprise uses about 20 different tools to manage the various aspects of IT.

Integrating tools from different providers can be challenging. Imagine the complexity involved with integrating, configuring and maintaining 20 different tools.

NEW APPROACH TO SIMPLIFY IT

Unified IT Management

Unified IT Management is a single integrated platform which brings together endpoint and network management, helpdesk and service management, security, and knowledge management. A Unified IT Management platform enables enterprises to monitor and manage the entire IT infrastructure from a single pane of glass. Unified IT Management leverages automation and ease of use to save time, reduce costs and increase efficiency.

BENEFITS OF UNIFIED IT MANAGEMENT

The benefits of Unified IT Management are many. A few of the significant ones are improved security, increased regulatory compliance and enhanced IT productivity.

Improved Security

Patching, Backup and Secure Authentication

How can you implement proper patch procedures and remediate software vulnerabilities without overwhelming your IT teams? How do you keep your antivirus/anti-malware software constantly updated? Your data is secure, but is your backup reliable as well? These are a few of the many questions Unified IT Management provides answers to.

+ Automate Patch Management: A cornerstone of Unified IT Management is automated software patch management. It allows organizations to perform discovery and inventory of all its assets, identifies missing patches, applies them immediately and mitigates risk. It also automates software maintenance across platforms, reducing the risk of human errors.

+ Automate Backup: Losing sleep over missed backups? Automate critical backup and disaster recovery tasks to successfully bring your systems back online when an incident occurs. Unified backup brings the various elements of backup under a single management interface. Get intelligent alerts, stay protected from ransomware and ensure disaster recovery with automated backup testing.

+ Secure Authentication: With Unified IT Management, organizations can secure their data by minimizing the risk of password-related breaches and make password management efficient. With two-factor authentication, strong identity authentication and full tracking of staff activity are provided.

Also, technicians can have single-click access to end-user devices without having to know or have access to all of the passwords for those devices. This means that managers don't need to change all of the passwords if someone leaves the company.

Increased IT Productivity

Save time, resources and costs

+ Manage remotely: With a Unified IT Management platform, you can remotely manage any device from a single dashboard, having full control without end-user interruption. This saves IT technicians travel time and enables quick resolution of issues.

+ Increase efficiency: A "single pane of glass" console eliminates silos between the IT tools and allows for seamless IT Operations. With centralized command and automation, staff productivity is increased and operating costs are reduced.

Also, integration with IT documentation and knowledge management (KM) software allows immediate access to IT asset data when and where it's needed. This reduces time finding asset information and speeds up the resolution of service tickets (incidents).

+ Optimize automation: Automated patch management simplifies tons of steps - from preparing, to testing, to scheduling - saving hours of time and effort. Similarly automating software management, security and compliance free up resources that can then focus on mission-critical IT tasks.

As the business environment continues to change more and more rapidly, IT has become even more critical to businesses. Business executives now rely on IT to get that competitive edge. Unified IT Management helps IT teams enhance IT operational efficiency, reduce IT costs and focus on strategic business initiatives to drive innovation and digital transformation.

HOW DOES UNIFIED IT MANAGEMENT WORK?

The key components of Kaseya's Unified IT Management platform are Kaseya VSA for network and endpoint management, Vorex for service desk and service management, IT Glue for IT documentation and knowledge management, and Kaseya Unified Backup for backup and disaster recovery.

• Kaseya VSA - With VSA you can manage both endpoints and networks, automate security and patches and ensure compliance with industry regulations like GDPR and HIPPA.
• Vorex - A cloud-based service desk and service management solution that helps centralize, streamline and manage all of your IT tickets.
• IT Glue - A powerful IT documentation and Knowledge Management solution, IT Glue maximizes the efficiency, transparency, and consistency of documenting your IT asset information, organizational data and IT processes.
• Kaseya Unified Backup - Unifies backup and disaster recovery (BDR) across on-premises, laaS and SaaS applications. Kaseya's solutions include:

• BDR Appliances: Direct to Cloud Backup and SaaS Backup are the different solutions of Kaseya Backup.
• Direct to Cloud Backup: File backup to cloud storage for workstations and servers.
• SaaS Backup: Cloud-to-Cloud backup and recovery for SaaS workloads, such as Office 365, G-Suite, and SalesForce.

Kaseya's Unified IT Management Architecture

The figure shows how endpoint management works with service management, IT documentation, and backup and disaster recovery systems to manage all IT functions.

Consider this common use case:

A user contacts support because of a problem they are having with their PC or some business application. A service ticket is created. The support person opens the ticket in the service desk (Vorex) and easily pulls up all of the asset information for that user's device right in the service desk user interface (IT Glue integration with Vorex). They can also see certain IT procedures and asset configuration information related to that device that has been documented in the knowledge/configuration management system.

Next, the technician determines that they need to remotely access the device via the endpoint management tool, which they can access with the click of a button (VSA integration with Vorex). They are able to login to the end user device using VSA's 1-Click Access feature, without having to know or keep track of all of the end user device passwords. The asset data (from IT Glue) can also be seen in VSA's Live Connect remote access module (VSA and IT Glue integration). The technician uses that information to help resolve the issue and closes the service ticket.

Kaseya's Unified IT Management Platform has:

• A common interface that is easy to use. It streamlines onboarding processes and enhances technician efficiency.
• Integrated tools which provide a seamless workflow process. Fast access to asset data and other IT information across tools (VSA, Vorex and IT Glue) speeds up the service ticket resolution process.
• A shared library of automation scripts and reports in the Kaseya Automation Exchange Marketplace. You can sell, buy and share automation with Kaseya's community of customers and multiply your productivity instantly.

Conclusion

As organizations expand, IT infrastructure and complexity grow with them. A Unified IT Management solution helps midsize companies manage IT complexity, improve IT security and increase productivity all while optimizing costs and resources. This allows room for IT professionals to focus on more strategic projects to add continuous value for the growth of the business.