You might be wondering, “What is Unified Endpoint Management?” The common definition of UEM is a single platform for management of devices such as phones, tablets, laptops, and desktops. But more than that, at Model Technology Solutions, we also include the processes that are required to support the management of those devices.

Essentially, we think that UEM is more than just the platform that’s operating it. It’s also the people, processes, and practices that surround that platform that make for efficient, secure, and cost-effective endpoint management.

Now, if you’re a CIO or IT director and you’re considering a UEM solution for your infrastructure, you might also be wondering:

Is UEM worth the time and money that it takes to implement?

In this post, we’re going to answer that question in brief, and then we’re going to give you come case study examples of different companies that made the decision that, yes, UEM was worth it for them to invest in to some degree and what were the results. That way you can be better informed to make the decision that’s right for your company and infrastructure.

Is UEM Worth The Investment?

Is UEM worth the investment in time or money that it takes to make? The answer is…it depends. We’re not going to lump all companies into one category – years of working with UEM customers of various sizes and industries have taught us that stereotyping services for companies is unhelpful and insincere.

Instead, we prefer a more nuanced look at things.

For example, Unified Endpoint Management might not be worth your time if you:

• Have less than 100 endpoints
• Have implemented internal processes that work well already at your company to manage endpoints

UEM generally works best for companies that have more endpoints rather than less. UEM can be a significant investment in time and resources on the front end. And making that kind of investment likely isn’t worth it if your endpoints are able to be effectively managed manually by your IT team because your number of endpoints are small.

Plus, having more endpoints increases the likelihood that implementing UEM will have the added benefit of offsetting costs by reducing inefficiencies and waste in your infrastructure.

On the other hand, UEM might very well might be worth your time and money if you:

• Have over 1000 endpoints
• Are concerned about data security and endpoint efficiency
• Are looking for ways to cut costs and improve endpoint management simultaneously
• Have particularly important needs regarding endpoint uptime, security, and compliance for your particular industry

The bottom line is that if security, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness are things that you think about from day to day, and you have enough endpoints to make it worth your while, there’s some level of UEM that likely would be a good investment for your company.

But if you’re still patching manually, and your company is small enough that you’re not dedicating inordinate amounts of time to doing so, you might not be quite ready to jump headfirst into fully-fledged UEM.

What Are The Possible Benefits of UEM?

In short, UEM helps to improve the big three for companies who implement:

• Security
• Compliance
• Efficiency

As patching iterations shorten and cybercrime is on the rise, these three improvements become more and more important for companies every single day. Unpatched endpoints are one of the most common sources of infrastructure vulnerabilities.

And these three improvements drastically reduce the likelihood of a data breach, vastly improve end user experience, and also many times even lead to cost-effectiveness that offsets the costs of implementation.

Ultimately, UEM allows you to do more tasks with less resources and to do them better too. In the right infrastructure, UEM can increase security and compliance and reduce resource allocation and manpower in one fell swoop.

What Might UEM Look Like In Practice?

There are several options for implementing UEM in your infrastructure. Three of the biggest options out there are:

1. An Endpoint Management Software Suite

Purchase some sort of third-party software to manage your endpoints. Some examples of these types of software include ManageEngine or our own software suite Objur. These software suites allow for endpoint management and hydration from a centralized terminal.

2. An Internal Solution

Implement a UEM solution using internal resources and manpower. Build the solution from the ground up and hire the necessary personnel to do so. This is a good option if you have vast IT resources to expend and you want to keep everything in house. However, who has vast IT resources to spare these days? Plus, even if you do, having the know-how to do it perfect and keep security tight is not always a given for IT generalists trying to implement UEM internally.

3. IT Outsourcing/Automation

Contract with a third-party company like Model Technology solutions to build and manage a UEM solution for you. By far the least work-intensive option, and oftentimes by far the most secure and efficient.