The San Francisco-based company bills the mobile device management (MDM) solution as more accessible and cost-effective, but also scalable and customizable for the specific needs of an organization without having to pay additional fees.

According to FleetDM, the MDM solution has out-of-the-box support for macOS, Windows, Linux and ChromeOS, and it can be configured to share data across teams and can be integrated with third-party platforms and DevOps processes via a REST API. That allows IT engineers and admins to run queries, access data and customize application development and delivery processes.

In addition, FleetDM’s new solution provides bidirectional transparency so end users have visibility into what is being monitored to help establish employee trust.

The company says the GitOps-driven consensus model enables close collaboration among security, developer and operations teams while ensuring a secure roll out of dedicated write operations.

The Fleet MDM solution also features bring-your-own capabilities for scripting and packaging tools to enable IT to use the tools the regular tools to ensure organizational requirements are met.

A closed-loop feedback on deployments means IT never needs to worry about whether the configuration made it to the machine, the company says.

According to FleetDM, an intuitive dashboard features one-click visibility and control, enabling IT to  manage devices from any location or platform. It enables automatic enrollment of new employees with Okta or any identity provider, IT management of software updates and patching with any software manager (Puppet, Munki, Chef, etc.), disk encryption (for macOS) using Apple FileVault, remote locks and wipes and includes all of the CIS critical security controls for Mac and Windows.

The company also says the solution supports multiple user accounts and in-depth activity auditing so teams can share data across different departments without security risks or privacy concerns.

In a statement, FleetDM co-founder and CTO Zach Wasserman says Fleet is built for programmatic automation, and automating audit logs with third-party platforms like Splunk becomes easier with Fleet.

“In addition, other platforms let you push updates to computers and turn on disk encryption, but if you want to see whether it actually worked you can’t – there’s no feedback mechanism for that and no way to see what’s actually happening,” Wasserman says. “With Fleet, you can say, ‘Turn on FileVault,’ and then run a query that says ‘how many computers have FileVault turned on?’ and you’ll see that it was 100% successful.”

According to the company, Fleet is based on the open source project osquery, co-developed in 2014 by Wasserman, then working at Meta. Wasserman co-founded Kolide in 2016 and created Fleet, an open source platform that made it easier for enterprises to use osquery. The Fleet community took over maintenance of the open source project in 2019, with Wasserman serving as lead maintainer. Wasserman partnered with FleetDM CEO Mike McNeil in 2020, announcing the transition to a stand-alone entity in November of that year.

In a statement, McNeil says Fleet is built for results and gives both security and IT teams the tools and features they need.

“We empathize with the leaders we speak to everyday who are stuck having to choose between out-of-the-box legacy MDMs or building their own on-top of a hodgepodge of unsupported open-source libraries,” McNeil says. “We built Fleet to bridge this chasm. We first built a battle-tested open-source platform that security teams trust, and then layered on top of it the configuration and APIs that IT teams want to see. We see the future of IT being unlocked by a devops mindset, and we aim to be at the forefront of that revolution.”

The post Fleet Launches Open-Source, Cross-Platform MDM Solution appeared first on My TechDecisions.

New RMM Features 

GoTo Resolve’s latest RMM features streamline workloads to uncover, diagnose, and resolve IT challenges in a unified solution, and expand access to IT management. With the new features, GoTo Resolve says its the only all-in-one IT management and support solution with native RMM, remote support and access, and ticketing backed by a built-in zero trust security architecture.

With GoTo Resolve’s latest RMM features IT administrators can perform the following:

• RMM: The free RMM solution includes customizable device monitoring, a system diagnostics dashboard, background terminal and file manager access, and unlimited remote access and automation for up to five priority devices.
• Device monitoring: Automatically detect device issues and address them with customizable alert policies before they escalate.
• Endpoint protection software management: Monitor and manage antivirus software from a single dashboard with the ability to request status updates, view a list of threats and initiate scans.
• Automated patch management: Identify, approve and automatically deploy Windows patches to one or more devices to keep software up-to-date and protected against threats without interrupting users.

Helpdesk Updates

GoTo Resolve’s helpdesk received significant updates to eliminate the headache of managing multiple tools, vendors and contracts for IT agents supporting employees and customers.

IT administrators can utilize GoTo Resolve’s HelpDesk solutions for the following:

• Flexible end user portal: A hub which enables users to create tickets, see a list of previously submitted support requests, and add comments to existing requests. ​
• Enhanced helpdesk reporting: Agents can generate reports on tickets based on category, drill down to see details, and export ticket data.
• Customized workflows: Ticketing now includes enhanced quick actions, attachments, labels, and the ability to add custom fields to tickets. 
• Mobile app ticketing: Agents can provide full support and resolve filed tickets via the GoTo Resolve mobile agent app.

GoTo’s Investments for full ITSM functionality

GoTo says it plans to invest in key areas of expansion across the IT service management industry. These include native mobile device management (MDM) capabilities following the company’s acquisition of Miradore, hardware and software asset management, native integrations with industry leading service providers, and modern incident, change and problem management. All designed to deliver a resolution-first, easy ITSM experience.

The post GoTo Launches Remote Monitoring & Management Tool appeared first on My TechDecisions.

From device staging (activation and onboarding) through to device reclamation. The processes should make it easier to roll out new mobile devices, redeploy or trade-in older ones and achieve the best possible price should they be sold at the end of their lifecycle.

The underlying problem (and opportunity) hides in the complexity of device lifecycle management implementation for the end user, the service provider and the corporate IT department. Such complexity can only be solved through implementing best in class technology that creates value to all players while improving the customer experience.

Activation & Onboarding

Effective staging is one of a variety of techniques that businesses use to maximize the lifecycle of devices. This is true whether these devices are brand-new, out-of-the-box, those awaiting redeployed to new employees, or BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) provided by employees. To ensure these devices’ long-term viability, a consistent automated tool that provides complete visibility into their condition and performance irrespective of platform and OS is vital. Such a tool must give the end user a value, even before they have a perceived issue, through preventive optimization.

It should share the right data (and limit it to comply to the highest privacy standards) to allow the service provider and corporate IT the ability to predict and solve issues. Optimized usage, asset documentation and automation allows both operators and corporates to postpone the need to upgrade over time and lengthen the average device life.

Self-service Support

Once devices have been successfully onboarded, businesses can go a step further to support devices by preloading quick start guides.

The benefits of this are two-fold: empower the end-user to alleviate their perceived device issues in real-time without the need for help desk support and follow company-sanctioned processes to ensure a consistent level of care for the devices to extend their lives.

An automated tool to diagnose and solve issues on the device, without the need for an agent, is the key to removing friction and reducing (internal or external) support costs and employee downtime. Such an automated tool has to be simple, efficient, secure and scalable to yield the desired customer satisfaction.

Ongoing Device Care

Ongoing health checks and diagnostic reporting over the life of a device can be accomplished by persistent diagnostic reporting via an app that monitors the device’s health. Although device OEMs sometime offer such tools, they are not well known by users and cannot be managed by the corporation, as they do not share diagnostic data with the IT department or the operator support.

Support

If an issue is identified with a device that cannot be solved with a self-service approach (such as a hardware fault, the need to reset the device, a battery issue, etc.) it is important to have a timely repair service to get the device fixed as quickly as possible.

A fully automated device care ecosystem (as past of an overall device lifecycle management) not only deflects unneeded repairs, which avoids the negative experience of not having your own device with you (and costs associated with logistics) but also allows to route the device effectively to the quickest and cheapest repair provider.

Ensuring that the appropriate repair provider only uses genuine parts OEM parts guarantees a higher residual value for devices once they reach the end of their lifecycle.

What To Do When Your Device Reaches the End of Life

When a device reaches the end of its useful life (whether this is due to redeployment, trade-in, or recycling) businesses must ensure that a proper disposal procedure is in place. This should include a process or solution to mitigate any corporate liability for data on devices through certified data erasure.

Buyback and Trade-in

Businesses tend to make use of buyback programs. In these situations, traders set the prices they are willing to pay for devices based on cosmetic and diagnostic hardware grading where an A-graded item may fetch $150, a B-graded item may fetch $100, and a C-grade item may fetch $70 and so on.

Buyback solutions empower enterprises to own the process, improve their ESG score while improving their P&L with higher efficiency. It allows enterprises to have traders plug into it, in effect turning it into an auction space. Here, instead of setting prices traders to bid against one another, maximizing the achievable residual value of the devices or their parts.

Such technology, implemented and integrated into the corporate processes and IT, ensure that the devices are not just being recycled, but traded-in and reused in other markets by end users.

Liran Weiss is CCO and co-founder of the device lifecycle management solutions provider, MCE Systems. Weiss is a husband, father, entrepreneur, technology and design enthusiast. He’s an experienced executive in charge of company strategy, product vision, strategic partnerships, marketing and commercial engagements. He’s spent over 15 years  in mobile communications, entrepreneurship, management and product marketing. Weiss holds a B.Sc. focused in Computer science and Physics from the Ben Gurion University of the Negev in Israel.

The post How to Maximize the Lifecycle of Devices & What to do When Your Device Reaches the End appeared first on My TechDecisions.

Without a doubt, the hybrid work model is popular among workers globally. Most of them (83%) prefer a hybrid approach, according to the Accenture Future of Work Study 2021, which surveyed more than 9,000 workers worldwide in early 2021. While there are several reasons why workers prefer a hybrid approach over working entirely onsite or remotely, some of the main reasons include better mental health, stronger work relationships and less burnout, the study revealed.

Workers aren’t alone in their optimistic view of the hybrid work model. C-Suite executives are in favor of a hybrid approach to work. In fact, 79% of C-Suite executives plan on implementing the hybrid work model for workers where on-site presence isn’t necessary, according to a Workplace Intelligence survey of 1,000 C-suite and 1,000 non-C-suite employees.

When most workers hear the term “hybrid work environment,” flexibility immediately comes to mind. They think about being able to work poolside and spending more time with their children — maybe even finding some time to walk the dog. But not everybody is optimistic about the hybrid approach. 

Related: New Teams Rooms Devices, Features For Hybrid Work On The Way

For IT professionals, the hybrid work model is a security concern — and the data already supports this viewpoint. Even though many leaders believe their data is secure in a hybrid work environment, 53%  of employees reported up to six instances of lost productivity due to network access issues, according to a 2021 Entrust report, which surveyed 1,500 business leaders and 1,500 general employees from 10 countries.

The report also revealed additional security challenges typically associated with the hybrid work model, including home internet security (23%) and leakage of sensitive company data (21%). While the security challenges of the hybrid work environment are valid, they’re not going away anytime soon, as even IT professionals are aware of the growing support for hybrid work environments. 

Even for IT professionals, denying the impact of the hybrid work model on corporate America is simply out of the question. Seventy-five percent of IT leaders believe that the future of work will be remote or hybrid, according to a 2020 report from security firm Tessian, which surveyed 250 IT decision makers and 2,000 working professionals. The hybrid work model is a reality IT professionals are forced to confront in 2022 and in the years to come. 

Unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to hybrid work environments for IT professionals. Businesses come in all different shapes and sizes, implement varying hybrid work policies and manage differing IT environments. What works for one business may not work for another. But all IT professionals in a hybrid world are up against the following — determining the best way to manage mobile devices for the hybrid workplace.

Mobile device management (MDM) in the hybrid workplace

The hybrid workplace may complicate things a bit for IT professionals; however, these challenges aren’t anything out of the ordinary for them. IT professionals are used to working in rapidly changing environments and dealing with uncertainty. They’ve also been following the change in user behavior over the past decade, which has changed drastically. 

When it comes to mobile device management (MDM), a hybrid work model simply shifts the conversation from one type of security approach to another. Prior to the pandemic, many IT professionals focused on what’s known as perimeter-based thinking, where defending applications, devices and users inside the network is key. Over the past decade or so, many IT professionals learned the shortcomings of the perimeter-based approach (e.g., devices found their way outside the network) and adapted accordingly. 

When managing mobile devices, IT professionals typically concentrate on enhancing security measures and policies while also addressing privacy. For example, there’s the continued focus on multi-factor authentication (MFA) for obvious reasons and the zero trust security model, where “never trust, always verify” is the basis of the zero trust network architecture (ZTA). 

While a modern-day hybrid MDM solution is required to tackle many of the challenges in the hybrid workplace, it’s not the only thing IT professionals should consider.

It takes more than an MDM to manage the next generation of computers

Even though MDM solutions have evolved over the years, many MDM solutions still only provide the basics to IT professionals. The basic MDM solutions are typically good for establishing a self-service portal for end users, but they oftentimes fail to provide the security controls and other features necessary for businesses to thrive in a hybrid workplace.

Related: Verizon Business Launches Verizon Mobile for Microsoft Teams

For instance, while straightforward device enrollment and deployment is critical to remote operations and identity management, that’s just the baseline of the level of support customers expect. IT professionals in today’s hybrid world must also have access to the following features: real-time visibility (from everything to battery performance to user activity for total security); control and access (to ensure that you can deploy patches, assist remote users, and monitor risks) and scalable maintenance (IT professionals shouldn’t be limited when scaling). 

Any device management platform that cannot provide these expanded capabilities will not suffice as a tool to help IT admins properly manage and secure a hybrid workforce. IT professionals are facing an ever-evolving IT threat landscape and must have the best tools available to them.

But even with the right solutions, IT professionals should still pay close attention to the behaviors of their end users when managing mobile devices.

The devices end users are now using are changing

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated in the inevitable — the adoption of Apple devices in the workplace. Many end users during the pandemic relied on their personal devices, many of which were Apple. Today, as businesses move to the hybrid work model, many end users continue to use their Apple devices for work-related purposes — and that’s something Apple’s betting on. 

Many users are underestimating Mac adoption and growth in the enterprise in 2022, even after the tech giant’s latest updates to its MacBook Pro line. Equipped with the new M1 chip, the new MacBook Pro performs exponentially faster than the Intel-based MacBook Pro, which many business users are still using today. The device also has a longer battery life, a higher-quality screen and additional ports. Apple basically took everything business users have been wanting to see in the MacBook Pro for years and delivered. Without a doubt, Apple has focused its efforts on business users.

That being said, whatever platform IT professionals use for managing mobile devices in the hybrid workplace, it must also be able to accommodate Apple devices. Ignoring them or preventing users from using them is no longer an option.

If anything, managing devices in the hybrid workplace is going to continue to evolve. Knowing how to manage Macs vs PCs, using the right solution, and understanding user behavior will put IT professionals ahead of their competitors.

The post Managing Mobile Devices in the Hybrid Workplace in 2022 appeared first on My TechDecisions.