As a business, you always want to make sure that your endpoints are top-notch. If they aren’t, then it can negatively impact your company’s bottom line, and how your customers perceive your brand.
There are many benefits that come with expert endpoint management. One of them is the reduction in costs, as it reduces the need for IT personnel to manage and maintain endpoints individually. It also minimizes the risk of data breaches due to compromised endpoints.
What is endpoint management?
Endpoint management is the process of managing, securing, and monitoring all the devices connected to a network. It is a crucial component of cybersecurity. When endpoint management is done correctly, it prevents unauthorized access or data theft.
Endpoint management has become a significant issue in recent years as more devices connect to networks and people’s information becomes more vulnerable. It is not just about securing devices and networks, but also about protecting data from being stolen or lost.
The goal of endpoint management is to protect valuable data and private information at all costs.
Typical costs of endpoint management
The costs of an endpoint can be broken down in two different ways: hardware and software.
Hardware costs will typically include any purchase that involves the purchase of a computer, such as a desktop or laptop. Software costs will involve upgrades to software and licenses for programs on your computers, including antivirus and antimalware software.
How to reduce costs
Regular hardware maintenance
Ensure that your hardware is up-to-date and all the drivers are installed correctly. Hardware maintenance helps ensure that the systems in place on your desktops and laptops are performing at their best. This will help you avoid any unwanted crashes or system issues; it will also improve the overall performance of your infrastructure.
It’s always essential to make sure the devices used by your employees are not compromised and that they are running at their peak performance levels by regularly performing hardware upgrades and checking device installations.
Replace outdated software
Upgrading software can be costly. It’s important to monitor which programs you still need to have installed so that there isn’t a significant amount of money spent on software updates.
Replacing outdated programs with new ones will increase the security of your systems, minimising the risk of cyber threats, which in turn will save you the cost of investigating any potential cyberattacks or suffering downtime.
It’s important to keep your endpoint protection up-to-date with the latest updates. By doing so, you will be able to get the most out of your systems and reduce the risk of a malware attack. If you’re not sure what software updates are available, look at your security management system or contact your IT support team.
Implement cloud-based solutions
Cloud-based software is hosted on a remote server, not on the company’s own servers, which provides the benefit of reducing the cost of hardware and maintenance.
Cloud-based solutions allow companies to pay for only what they use, so they don’t have to worry about upfront costs or paying for unused resources. It also reduces the risk of data loss, since it is stored on a remote server as opposed to in-house servers.
Outsourcing to a managed service provider
Managed IT service providers (MSPs) offer endpoint management services at a fraction of the cost when compared to in-house solutions. This is because they are able to deploy their resources on a large scale and offer economies of scale.
MSPs also have a dedicated team for this specific task which means that there is no need for your employees to spend their time on this activity. This will free up more time for them to focus on other tasks that are crucial for your business such as sales or marketing.
Reduce endpoint vulnerability
One of the most important ways that you can reduce costs is to ensure that your endpoints are as secure as they can be. Having up-to-date software and an up-to-date operating system is a huge part of this.
Updating your OS ensures that there aren’t any vulnerabilities in it that hackers could exploit, which would lead to data breaches. This also helps protect your endpoints against malware and other cyber threats.
Another way to reduce endpoint vulnerability is by making sure that you are using the latest antivirus software on your devices. Using a top-quality antivirus software ensures that your computers and laptops are protected from viruses and other forms of malicious software, like ransomware.
Get the right advice from the experts
Endpoint management is the practice of protecting a network and its endpoints. This can also help you to reduce costs of endpoint devices, reduce the number of endpoint types, and reduce the amount of resources needed to protect the endpoints. The right solution can help your business be more productive, more secure, and more efficient.
The endpoint specialists at Technology Solutions can help you create an endpoint management plan that will better protect your networks and reduce your overall costs. Talk to them today and start saving.
I’m shocked to see (still) so many companies (especially smaller ones) that don’t update their outdated programs. They just rely on older things, thinking everything was fine until now and why wouldn’t it be the same way in the future?
Right? Case in point, the IRS: 40 Years of Failure: IRS Unable to Fix Computer System
40 years?! And they still haven’t cracked it?! Needless to say they are probably doing something wrong. If they’d only hire a capable company that does this for a living and is an expert at it and give them full control to fix this. I think we would see a new IRS within 2 years max. Or we can always wait another 40 years…
You’ve talked about how MSPs can reduce costs. I wonder, does this apply to a smaller company? Or is it the case just for bigger businesses? Thank you.
At my last workplace they were still working with Windows 7!? Not to mention that I’ve heard of people in small businesses still using Windows XP!!! I mean, come on! It’s 2022 and we’re still using super outdated OSs like this?
What is your suggestion for a very good antivirus? I’m currently between BitDefender, Trend Micro Antivirus and Norton. Which one of these 3 is better and which is your favorite (the best antivirus available)?
For free antivirus I may go with BitDefender. For paid (and home/residential) I may go with Norton. For commercial/large business/MSP I’d go with SentinelOne or CrowdStrike’s.