CEO Corner: 4 Trends in Unified Endpoint Management for 2023

Looking back, 2022 has been an interesting year in the evolution of unified endpoint management (UEM). We have become a truly mobile and distributed workforce, with 78% of people working remotely for at least some time every week¹. In combination with the increasing diversity of endpoints, IT teams have been saddled with considerable challenges in many organizations. In fact, even though more than 50% of companies have at least one UEM solution, many don’t have solid architecture, onboarding processes or usage policies in place to leverage the technology for maximum value (and ROI!).

As a result, we believe that 2023 is going to be a time for businesses to reevaluate their environments, finding ways to get more from their investments to enhance the digital employee experience regardless of where and on which devices individuals work. We also anticipate IT teams to home in on these UEM trends in the process.

1. Patching and Updating: Companies will increase the use of UEM for laptop management, which includes patching and updating remotely and over the air. This will ensure better device and data security, simplifying compliance and digital health, thus preventing malware and exploits from being executed. With the remote patching and updating functionality, organizations can reduce the cost of IT management, improve user flexibility, and create visible metrics showing application access and use.
2. Managing BYOD: According to recent survey data, although only 18% of respondents stated they use UEM to manage corporate and BYOD endpoints, 50% plan to leverage UEM for BYOD in the future.² Part of this motivation is to improve endpoint security across all devices. As employers seek to increase employee buy-in and keep productivity high, providing more freedom and flexibility — while controlling security and governance issues associated with BYOD — will be key.
3. Hardware Lifecycle Recycling: For decades IT teams have struggled to safely dispose of corporate-owned assets. And as companies look to focus on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) priorities, the desire for a more eco-friendly disposal option is growing. Today’s UEM solutions can now integrate with specific asset recovery solutions to simplify/automate the recovery and maximize the value of the hardware through recycling. Many companies will look to automate their hardware refresh process to save time and ensure data erasure.
4. Refining Enterprise Strategy: Technology continues to advance at warp speed. As companies look to define and hone their enterprise strategies, Gartner suggests top priorities will fall into one of four categories³, two of which are directly tied to the UEM environment: 1) optimizing resilience, operations or trust and 2) pursuing sustainable technology solutions. In addition to the trends we’ve already noted, we expect to see increased focus in security, compliance, governance, prevention of malicious activity and addressing compromised devices, remote support, and streamlining efforts to deploy policies.

There is no question that the future of work is dependent on companies’ abilities to marry technology needs and wants with security and compliance requirements. Though this can be a difficult balance, having the right UEM solutions — with foundational support from well-crafted mobile device usage policies and a mobile device recovery plan — in place can make a dramatic difference.

To learn more about the power of UEM, watch this two-minute video. Or, if you’d like to schedule a demo or have questions about what UEM can do for your business, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us by emailing sales@techorchard.com.

¹ Gallup Survey, Returning to the Office: The Current, Preferred and Future State of Remote Work, August 31, 2022
² Informa Engage’s Industry Insights – Trends in Unified Endpoint Management