Unified Endpoint Management (UEM): What it is, How it Works, and Why it Matters

UEM is a cross-platform solution that allows organizations to manage, secure, monitor, and control all types of endpoints within its environment. It typically connects desktops, laptops, smartphones, and IoT devices into a unified system.

In this post, we’ll take a look at what UEM is, how these solutions work, how they differ from other types of device management systems, and which features they typically include.

How does a UEM solution work?

UEM software creates an additional management layer in an organization’s IT system that connects and controls all the devices that operate in this system.

Typically, a UEM solution works through a continuous lifecycle with the following stages:

• Enroll. System administrators or end users register devices in the UEM platform and get authenticated for the first time. During enrollment, the platform establishes trust with the endpoint and associates it with a specific user, department, or device group.
• Discover. The UEM platform collects information about enrolled devices: hardware specifics, OS details, installed applications, ownership status, etc. This data is added to a centralized inventory of managed endpoints.
• Enforce. After system administrators define security and device policies, the UEM platform configures all the endpoints connected to it accordingly.
• Monitor. Managed devices continuously report their status to the UEM platform. It tracks device health, security posture, installed applications, and other metrics.
• Remediate. If a device or its user changes pre-defined configurations or the UEM detects a security threat, the system can automatically trigger corrective actions or restrict access to corporate resources.

Benefits of unified endpoint management for organizations

Organizations adopt UEM platforms when they need to:

• Ensure consistency in device management. A UEM platform applies the same configurations for all devices in an organization’s network (within the restrictions of operating systems and device hardware capabilities).
• Streamline IT operations. Instead of using dedicated management solutions for controlling devices based on their OS, type, and capabilities, system administrators can work with any device within their network with one tool.
• Simplify compliance management. A UEM platform enforces configurations consistently for all devices and keeps a unified audit trail of device activity. Organizations can use it to demonstrate compliance and detect devices that run with non-compliant configurations.
• Enhance data, access, and endpoint security. Instead of allowing end users to configure security parameters of their devices, UEM enforces them consistently and monitors their state, thus improving overall network security.
• Improve threat detection capabilities. A UEM solution monitors early signs of security threats to devices connected to it. Upon detection, it alerts security officers on suspicious activity or limits it automatically.

How are MDM, EMM, and UEM solutions different?

All three types of solutions provide device management capabilities and are designed to secure corporate devices. They differ in the types of devices supported, restrictions and control mechanisms they can apply, and use cases.

Each of these types of solutions evolved from the previous one: MDM emerged when organizations first started adopting mobile devices for work tasks. Then, as the diversity of mobile devices grew and those devices started managing sensitive data, MDM solutions gained new capabilities and evolved into EMM systems.

For example, healthcare workers used mobile devices and tablets when working with patients outside of hospitals, and medical institutions needed a way to protect that data and ensure HIPAA compliance.

Finally, in 2018, Gartner released a first ever dedicated magic quadrant for unified endpoint management tools, thus solidifying the new market.

Key features of UEM

Exact feature sets in UEM solutions differ by vendor, target industry, and regulatory requirements they are built to comply with. However, at its core, a UEM system needs the following features:

• Device enrollment and provisioning to register new devices with the system and automate the initial device and app configuration.
• Centralized device inventory to maintain a single database of managed devices, their properties, and applications.
• Policy and configuration management that allows administrators to define, deploy, and maintain security, access, and device settings for endpoint groups and specific endpoints.
• Application management to streamline deployment, configuration, updates, and deletion of software on managed devices.
• Patch management to automate OS and software update installation on controlled devices.
• Remote troubleshooting to provide a set of tools for helping system administrators diagnose and fix issues with connected devices remotely, with limited or zero involvement of the end user.
• Remote lock and wipe to allow administrators to lock devices or remove corporate data remotely in the event of loss, theft, or security incidents.
• Encryption and data protection to enforce encryption standards defined by corporate policies for data at rest and in transit.
• Identity and access management to apply authentication and authorization controls for end users to protect devices.
• Compliance monitoring to continuously evaluate whether devices conform to internal policies and regulatory requirements to identify non-compliant endpoints and alert system administrators.

Off-the-shelf vs. custom UEM solutions

The unified endpoint management market offers a variety of solutions, but most of them cover only basic management cases like the most common types of available devices, supported operating systems, and provided security features.

Companies that have complicated infrastructures, customized or rare devices, or specialized security requirements often need to customize an existing UEM solution to fit their needs.

UEM customization requires rare development skills in cybersecurity, integration, the cloud, and data management. For most companies that need a custom UEM solution, building a corresponding development expertise internally is rarely beneficial in the long term.

Instead, consider outsourcing development and customization tasks to companies like Apriorit, which already have the required expertise in device management software development. We’ll handle everything from customization planning to QA and implementation to maintenance.