Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2018. Read them in this 10th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
Contributed by Daniel Okine, Senior Director of Product Management, Adaptiva
How Automation Will Empower IT Teams in 2018
Moving into 2018, IT teams are under pressure. They've got
the migration to Windows 10 to worry about. They're dealing with the transition
to Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) and challenges arising from more remote
workers. They are also responsible for system maintenance as well as thwarting cyberattacks-and
perhaps the most dreaded task of all: performing routine system updates. Will
we see bigger, broader IT teams in 2018? Not likely. But, I do predict this
will be the year that automation becomes essential across all facets of system
management. Here's how this will play out:
Making the Most of
Windows 10 - Microsoft continues to march toward its goal of a billion
Windows 10 devices. While it won't hit this number in 2018, hundreds of
thousands more machines will migrate to the new OS. What happens when they do?
The work isn't finished. Windows 10 is the most secure operating system created
thus far, but it's only effective if a company's endpoints are correctly
configured to take advantage of the new security features. Automation is the
key. By relying on new solutions to automatically check the security
configuration management settings of endpoints, diagnose any problems, and
immediately resolve issues, IT professionals will finally be able to keep up
with the pace of troubleshooting and resolve endpoint security issues on a
massive scale.
Transitioning to UEM
- Because the transition from Microsoft
SCCM to full UEM will also take a few more years to complete, companies will
increasingly turn to co-management solutions in 2018 as a bridge that works
with their timetables-without compromising security. When seeking options to
automate this process, companies will look for cloud-enabled solutions that
leverage technologies that work across the continuum, from traditional PCLM to UEM.
Any delivery mechanism should make it possible to work with a single agent that
is intelligent enough to run updates and applications from on-premise to mobile
at the same time. Additionally, the best solutions will support all device
types so that they can function effectively.
Managing and Updating
Systems - After a year that
featured several devastating security breaches, including cyberattacks WannaCry
and Petya that could have easily been prevented, routine updates will become an
absolute priority. More companies will outsource endpoint management in 2018 to
vendors that can quickly and reliably update every endpoint without compromising
network performance. In doing so, enterprises will see a dramatic impact on
overall network security as well as on IT teams that often lack the time and/or
appropriate skillsets to create custom automations. This will result in endpoints
that are shorn up while liberating IT teams to address other issues without
worrying about basic but essential updates.
Expect many other exciting developments in 2018, such as
sophisticated application of AI and voice recognition technology, to further
escalate the trend of automation across the IT security landscape. While the
pace of change in the enterprise has traditionally been slow, there will be
significant advances in the year ahead.
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About the Author
Daniel Okine, senior director of product management,
is responsible for setting product vision and roadmap at Adaptiva, using data
from market trends and opportunities, competitive landscape, and customer needs
to develop a global strategy for the company's endpoint management platform and
products. Daniel drives the technical priorities and programs at Adaptiva in
collaboration with key stakeholders in engineering and marketing. For more
information on Adaptiva, the market leader in modern endpoint management and
security, please visit www.adaptiva.com,
and follow the company at LinkedIn,
Facebook and Twitter.