Securing networks and devices is more crucial than ever before. Endpoint monitoring is key in this effort, as it oversees all network-connected devices to protect against emerging cybersecurity threats and maintain performance. In this blog, we’ll also look at how Kaseya VSA (remote monitoring and management) boosts these functions, offering a solid strategy for IT management.

What is endpoint monitoring?

Endpoint monitoring is a crucial IT process that involves the continuous surveillance of all devices connected to a network — ranging from laptops and desktops to servers and mobile devices. The primary goal of this monitoring is to maintain the security and efficiency of these devices. By closely observing the activities and status of each endpoint, organizations can ensure that their network remains robust against potential vulnerabilities.

How does endpoint monitoring work?

The operation of endpoint monitoring is facilitated through specialized software solutions designed for real-time oversight. This software keeps a vigilant eye on each connected device to verify that it adheres to strict security policies. The system actively scans for any unusual activities or potential threats, allowing IT professionals to react swiftly and mitigate risks before they escalate into serious security incidents. This proactive approach is essential in maintaining the integrity and performance of an organization’s digital infrastructure.

Key components of endpoint monitoring

Endpoint monitoring encompasses several critical components:

• Real-time device surveillance: Keeps a constant watch over device activities and interactions within the network.
• Security compliance: Ensures all endpoints adhere to set security standards to mitigate risks.
• Threat detection and response: Identifies and mitigates threats promptly to protect the network.
• Performance optimization: Monitors and enhances the performance of each device to ensure optimal functionality.

By implementing these key elements, organizations ensure that their networks are both secure and efficient, prepared to face any potential threats that could compromise their systems or data. This multi-faceted approach not only safeguards assets but also supports optimal performance across all endpoints.

The importance of endpoint monitoring

Endpoint monitoring is not just about security; it’s a comprehensive approach that benefits organizations in several ways:

• Proactive security measures: Detects vulnerabilities and threats early, reducing the potential for breaches.
• Comprehensive visibility: Offers a clear view of all devices on the network, making it easier to manage and secure them.
• Reduced downtime: Minimizes disruptions by ensuring that all endpoints are functioning efficiently and issues are resolved quickly.
• Regulatory compliance: Helps organizations meet industry-specific compliance requirements by maintaining and demonstrating security best practices.

With the above benefits, endpoint monitoring is indispensable for any organization looking to protect and optimize its network environment. As enterprises continue to face complex security challenges, the comprehensive capabilities of endpoint monitoring become even more vital in maintaining the integrity and performance of their IT operations.

Implementing endpoint monitoring

Implementing endpoint monitoring is a strategic move towards enhancing the security and efficiency of IT operations across any organization. With the increasing complexity of IT environments and the growing need for robust security measures, having a powerful endpoint monitoring system is essential. Such tools not only track and manage devices within a network but also ensure compliance with security standards, making them indispensable in the modern cybersecurity landscape.

Key Features

Effective endpoint monitoring tools typically include:

• Real-time monitoring: Tracks device activities as they occur.
• Security event logging: Documents every security event for analysis and future reference.
• Performance metrics: Measures the performance of devices to identify potential issues.
• Alerts and notifications: Informs IT staff about irregular activities and potential threats.
• Compliance checks: Regularly verifies compliance with regulatory standards.
• Remote management: Allows IT teams to manage devices remotely, addressing issues without physical presence.

Effective endpoint monitoring equips IT teams with tools crucial for maintaining network security and efficiency, from real-time monitoring to compliance checks.

Impact on system performance

While adding another layer to IT operations, modern endpoint monitoring solutions are designed to be lightweight and non-intrusive, minimizing their impact on system performance. They optimize security without compromising the speed or efficiency of the endpoint.

Challenges in implementation

Adopting endpoint monitoring can present challenges, such as integrating with existing IT infrastructure, managing increased data volumes from monitoring, and training staff to effectively use new tools. However, the benefits far outweigh the hurdles, making it a worthy investment.

While implementing endpoint monitoring comes with its set of challenges, such as integration complexities and the need for staff training, the long-term benefits significantly outweigh these initial obstacles. By providing real-time surveillance, performance metrics and comprehensive security event logging, endpoint monitoring tools strengthen IT infrastructure without compromising performance. Ultimately, the strategic deployment of these tools not only fortifies security measures but also enhances overall operational efficiency, making it a valuable investment for any proactive IT department.

Kaseya VSA: Enhancing endpoint monitoring

Kaseya VSA stands out as an endpoint monitoring solution by not only addressing common challenges but also enhancing the capabilities of traditional monitoring tools. It integrates seamlessly with other IT management tools, providing a unified platform for managing all aspects of IT operations.

Why choose Kaseya VSA for endpoint monitoring?

Businesses should consider Kaseya VSA for its comprehensive approach to endpoint monitoring, which includes enhanced security features, efficient performance monitoring and robust compliance tracking. Kaseya’s solution is designed to meet the needs of modern enterprises facing complex cybersecurity challenges.

As endpoint monitoring is essential for maintaining the security, performance and compliance of your IT infrastructure, with Kaseya VSA, organizations can leverage advanced monitoring tools and gain the visibility and control needed to protect their digital environments effectively. Discover how Kaseya’s solutions can transform your endpoint monitoring strategies by watching this on-demand webinar covering Endpoint Security Management.

Ready to see Kaseya VSA in action? Start your free trial today and experience a new level of IT management sophistication.

The post What Is Endpoint Monitoring? appeared first on Kaseya.

Sometimes, the only challenge is the absence of a good endpoint security management tool — a gap that Kaseya VSA can fill effortlessly. This new year, let’s approach endpoint security with a renewed focus.

What is endpoint security management?

Endpoint security management is the implementation of proper systems, procedures and tools to manage and secure all types of endpoints connected to an organization’s network. The definition of endpoints, in this case, extends to all devices, such as laptops, mobile phones, tablets, and even servers and IoT devices.

Compromising even a single endpoint can provide threat actors with easy access to a company’s private network and applications as well as workloads on the cloud, threatening business continuity. They can then use this advantage to conduct corporate espionage, steal confidential information or launch devastating cyberattacks, like malware, ransomware, phishing, advanced persistent threats (APTs) and more. To prevent this from happening, technicians use a variety of tools, like antivirus, antimalware, firewalls, intrusion prevention systems and endpoint detection and response (EDR), to give all endpoints multiple layers of security.

Implementing security policies, such as establishing strong password rules, granting access permission, managing patches effectively, designing an incident mitigation plan and remotely wiping data from devices in the event of theft or unauthorized access, also fall under the scope of endpoint management.

Why is endpoint security management important?

Endpoints are the outermost perimeter of a company’s IT infrastructure, the first line of defense and the prime security targets, which is why they need constant monitoring and protection. Endpoint security management makes all the components and policies that go towards endpoint security work as a cohesive whole.

An advanced unified remote monitoring and management (URMM) solution, like Kaseya VSA, makes this easy. VSA is a four-in-one tool that combines powerful remote control, software/patch management, executive reporting and endpoint monitoring into a single, easy-to-use solution. Check out the story of how Sephno, a leading MSP specializing in cybersecurity, leveraged VSA and other tools from the Kaseya IT Complete platform to unlock business growth and success in the cybersecurity space.

Some of the top benefits of endpoint security management are:

• Data security and privacy: Endpoint security management protects critical and valuable data stored on endpoints from malicious activities. It also prevents unauthorized access, which can have a devastating effect on a company’s data confidentiality and reputation.
• Business continuity and productivity: Compromised or faulty endpoints lead to increased  downtime and lower productivity, which leads to financial losses due to the cost associated with data recovery and system restoration. A robust endpoint security management process ensures security, business continuity, higher uptime and better end-user and customer service. This translates to lower operational costs and optimum utilization of resources.
• Regulatory compliance: Data protection is serious business, and organizations have to comply with various government regulations to ensure this. By undertaking endpoint security tasks, organizations can also tick off many of the regulatory requirements, keeping them on the good side of the law. An added advantage is that it helps businesses protect their intellectual property from theft and misuse.
• Holistic cybersecurity strategy: Today’s challenging and complex cybersecurity landscape requires businesses to take a holistic approach to security. While endpoint security management is one facet, businesses must also focus on other aspects, like cloud security, network security and vulnerability management, for comprehensive protection. Additionally, organizations should invest in employee training for increased awareness and adherence to cybersecurity best practices.

Check out our webinar recording on endpoint security management for more information.

Benefits of endpoint security management

Endpoint security management provides users with secure access to corporate networks from any device with an internet connection. The following are some of its top benefits:

Best practices for endpoint security management

Keeping the following best practices in mind will help you build a robust endpoint security management plan and keep your endpoints safe from damaging cyberattacks.

Regular software patching and updates

• It is important to regularly patch and update software to protect against the latest threats.
• Patches should be installed as soon as they are available as they can help protect against a wide range of attacks, such as malware, denial of service and data theft.
• VSA provides automated patching that streamlines the patch management workflow, even for large-scale environments.
• VSA is optimized for rapid deployment of patches, even in low bandwidth networks. Moreover, VSA’s robust patch vetting process limits zero-day disruptions and offers easy governance via policy, profiles and organizations.
• View patch history, override or even rollback patches to limit end-user disruption.

User education and training

• Educating your users on the latest tactics used by cybercriminals and ways to identify and avoid them goes a long way toward strengthening your defense posture.
• Regular training and testing for attacks like phishing and malware can help users take the right steps to protect themselves and the organization.
• Employees should be trained to recognize suspicious emails, links and attachments that will help them remain vigilant and comply with security protocols.

Access control and least privilege principle

• Access control and the principle of least privilege protects organizations from both internal and external threats.
• Organizations use role-based access control to provide users access to only the resources they need for their role.
• This prevents users from accidentally deleting important data, changing configurations or installing applications with malicious intent.
• It also provides an extra layer of security by ensuring that only authorized personnel can access sensitive data.
• Access control requires users to be carefully identified and authenticated, using usernames, passwords and biometric data in order to grant them privileges and access.
• The principle of least privilege states that users should get access to the minimum amount of data they need to do their work, and access to any other resource should be provided on a need-to-know basis to minimize the potential impact of security incidents.

Endpoint encryption

• Encrypting all the data stored on an endpoint, including performing full disk encryption, prevents misuse in the event of loss, theft or other security incidents.
• It makes the data unreadable to anyone without a decryption key.
• Endpoint encryption also prevents malicious actors from accessing the data, even if they are able to gain physical access to the device.
• Organizations can also perform file-level encryption that encrypts individual files or folders instead of the entire device.
• It is also recommended to encrypt data when it is being transmitted over a network to protect it from man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks.

Continuous monitoring and incident response

• Continuous monitoring of endpoints helps technicians detect suspicious activity and respond to incidents in real-time.
• Round-the-clock monitoring, clubbed with machine learning and behavioral analytics, helps organizations contain threats before they become an actual breach. According to the IBM Security Cost of a Data Breach Report 2023, the average cost of a data breach is $4.45 million.
• Additionally, organizations should also have an incident response plan in place to quickly mitigate the impact of an attack. We have written a comprehensive eBook on how to build an effective incident response plan to protect your business from severe financial and reputational damages.

Integration with threat intelligence

• Threat intelligence solutions collect, analyze and share information on existing and potential threats to help businesses make informed decisions about security policies, systems and procedures.
• Threat intelligence provides specifics on indicators of compromise (IOCs), which serve as evidence of a cyberthreat in action.
• For instance, threat intelligence can provide details such as the type of malware used or the source of the attack, which can help organizations quickly identify and block malicious activities.
• For more information, check out our blog on the role of endpoint management tools in IT security.

Common challenges of endpoint security management and how to overcome them

Once you understand the best practices, knowing how to overcome common challenges will further help you solidify your endpoint security management game.

Diverse endpoint landscape

Applying security policies to a diverse variety of endpoint devices, applications and operating systems is challenging. It can lead to inconsistencies in vulnerability management and patch management and hurt the balance between security and usability.

Endpoint visibility and control

A diverse endpoint landscape can hamper visibility into certain endpoints, like those registered under the bring your own device (BYOD) policy or used by remote and mobile workers. Moreover, managing and controlling a growing number of applications, not all enrolled under the security plan, can create shadow IT threats. Legacy systems can also fly under the radar and might not integrate with modern security services.

Balancing security and productivity

Extremely stringent security practices can hinder productivity, making it difficult for users to access resources comfortably and when required. On the other hand, lax security policies increase the risk of a cyberattack. Therefore, striking a balance between the two is crucial for companies to achieve the twin goals of security and growth.

Zero-day threats and APTs

Zero-day threats leave security managers with a short window to fix the vulnerability before it gets exploited widely. Sometimes, cybercriminals use custom exploits that traditional security solutions or signature-based systems fail to detect. APTs, on the other hand, are multistage attacks that leverage advanced tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) and can go undetected for months.

Patch management challenges

Managing patches for varied endpoints is a complex task that requires regular monitoring and testing to ensure the latest patches are all applied. This can be time-consuming and costly, especially for organizations that have a large number of endpoints.

User awareness and training

Users often lack the capabilities to detect and respond to a cyberattack. They often do not know how to bring any suspicious activity to light. Lack of user awareness and training can lead to serious security threats.

Resource limitations

Lack of the right tools, resources or personnel can leave organizations with glaring loopholes in their endpoint security management strategy. Without being aware of potential threats or having access to the right tools, organizations can miss out on important warning signs or fail to detect suspicious activity.

Incident response efficiency

The efficiency of an incident response plan determines how quickly an organization can bounce back from a cyberattack, as well as how effectively it can contain the impact. Organizations without a plan are more likely to experience longer recovery times, higher financial losses and bigger reputational damage.

BYOD policies

BYOD poses a significant security risk. We know that a cyberattack is no longer a question of “if” but “when” it will happen. A company’s network becomes more vulnerable with every new device it adds. By allowing your employees to bring their own devices to work, you’re essentially trusting them to keep the devices secure.

Human error

The actions and behavior of individuals and how they interact with data digitally impact endpoint security. Using weak passwords, unintentional data exposure, lack of security awareness and falling victim to phishing emails and social engineering attacks can inadvertently introduce malware or disclose sensitive information. According to Verizon’s 2023 Data Breach Investigations Report, 74% of breaches involved the human element, which includes social engineering attacks, errors or misuse.

Having covered the challenges, here are some strategies to help you overcome them:

• Automated deployment and management: Automated deployment ensures that security patches, updates, and configurations are consistently and promptly applied across all endpoints. It also streamlines incident response, allowing IT teams to identify and take action on any threat quickly.
• Endpoint detection and response (EDR): EDR solutions provide real-time visibility of endpoint behavior, helping detect and respond to advanced threats quickly. It provides detailed forensic logs and reports, enabling IT teams to investigate and remediate threats more effectively. Additionally, EDR solutions can provide automated threat hunting and threat intelligence, helping IT teams stay ahead of attackers.
• User education and training: Encouraging users to adopt secure behavior and educating them to recognize and avoid phishing attempts and social engineering attacks will greatly reduce the likelihood of human-error-related security incidents. Additionally, regular security awareness training can help users stay up to date with the latest security trends and threats.
• Endpoint segmentation: Endpoint segmentation is an effective strategy to prevent the lateral movement of malware and stop it from spreading to the wider networks. By isolating critical endpoints and data, organizations can reduce their attack surface and limit the scope of the damage that can be done in the event of a breach.
• Continuous assessment and monitoring: Continuous monitoring and detection facilitates early detection of security threats and supports timely patch management. Organizations should also conduct regular security audits to identify any weak points and address them promptly.

What to look for in an endpoint security management solution?

An endpoint management solution should support not only the current needs but also the future needs of your organization. While it’s not a comprehensive list, a solution with the following features should help you meet your objectives:

• Comprehensive threat detection: The solution should provide complete protection against a slew of known, unknown and advanced threats. It should provide root cause analysis of incidents and strategies to mitigate them in the future.
• Real-time monitoring and response: Cyberattacks don’t see the time of the day, nor should your endpoint security tool. It should provide round-the-clock monitoring of your endpoints so you can detect and address anomalies in real-time.
• Compatibility and integration: The solution should easily integrate with core IT tools, like PSA and IT documentation and other security solutions, for complete interoperability and seamless collaboration across the entire IT infrastructure. It should also provide automation across IT management functions to streamline operations.
• Scalability: The solution should be able to handle a growing number and variety of endpoints as your business grows.
• User-friendly interface: The interface should be intuitive, easy to use and customizable to meet the needs of different types of users.
• Endpoint encryption and data protection: Encryption prevents data leaks and helps maintain the integrity of data. VSA provides encryption for data at rest and in transit, protecting it from unauthorized access. It also provides data backup and recovery to ensure that data is always available.
• Data loss prevention (DLP): DLP is the process of detecting and preventing data leaks, unauthorized destruction of sensitive information and illicit transfer of data outside the organization.
• Automated patch management: Effective and timely patch management is your best defense against ransomware or other cyberattacks. With 200+ third-party titles within VSA, you can patch all on- and off-network devices, including Windows, Mac and Linux. You can wake up your Windows machines in the middle of the night, install patches and turn them off again, empowering you to achieve near-perfect patch compliance. VSA’s robust patch vetting process limits zero-day disruptions and offers easy governance via policy, profiles and organizations. VSA is optimized for rapid deployment of patches even in low bandwidth networks. View patch history, override or even rollback patches to limit end-user disruption. Book a free demo of VSA and see how it functions in your envionment.
• Centralized management console: You should be able to complete every endpoint security management task from a single console. VSA empowers businesses to command all of IT centrally. Users can:

• Easily manage remote and distributed environments
• Simplify backup and disaster recovery
• Safeguard against cybersecurity attacks
• Effectively manage compliance and network assets
• Streamline IT documentation
• Automate across IT management functions

Here’s a handy checklist of the top things to consider when choosing a modern endpoint management solution.

How Kaseya can help you with endpoint security management

Kaseya VSA is a unified remote monitoring and management (uRMM) platform that enables IT teams to manage core IT security functions from a single console. VSA brings together a host of services, like software patch management (including OS and third-party patching), AV/AM deployment and management, and backup and disaster recovery management (servers and SaaS app data), so you can provide comprehensive protection to all your endpoints using a single platform. In addition, VSA lets you patch off-network devices even over low-bandwidth networks — an indispensable feature when securing work-from-home (WFH) employees’ computers.

By providing timely alerts and triaging them, VSA allows businesses to address the most critical vulnerabilities first. Also, when VSA detects a suspicious code or file, it isolates it and contains the affected endpoints, preventing the threats from moving laterally in the network. The solution also supports automated actions, such as quarantining a compromised device, blocking malicious processes or initiating a system scan, based on predefined rules.

By providing comprehensive security to your systems and networks with Kaseya VSA, you can protect them against ongoing cyberthreats. By integrating an RMM tool into your business, you can boost growth, protect your business and safeguard your clients.

Want to learn more? Schedule a demo of Kaseya VSA today!

The post What Is Endpoint Security Management and Why Is It Important? appeared first on Kaseya.

Whether you are looking at your first RMM investment or simply looking for tips and best practices to optimize your current solution, this blog is for you. We’ll share real-world examples of how businesses are putting RMM to work, so read on.

What is remote monitoring & management?

Remote monitoring and management is the process of overseeing and optimizing the performance and security of all devices connected to a network. This process is crucial for the success of any modern business and is performed using an RMM solution. Think of RMM as your tech-savvy sidekick that helps you complete tasks, like software updates, patch management, asset tracking, security monitoring, backup and recovery, and even reporting, painlessly. In today’s fast-paced digital world, RMM has become an essential tool for ensuring smooth IT operations and minimizing downtime. By helping businesses detect and troubleshoot issues proactively, it plays a crucial role in ensuring both IT reliability and security.

Why is RMM used?

RMM solutions offer a way for MSPs and small and midsize businesses (SMBs) to streamline and organize IT management. Prior to the extensive adoption of RMMs, IT professionals provided services on an ad hoc basis. Their clients would solicit their services only when something broke down and then pay them for that specific task. Also called the break-fix model, the system was reactive and didn’t involve continuous management and monitoring of the IT infrastructure.

As RMMs became more widely used and their application broadened, that changed. IT service providers could now provide extensive, round-the-clock services to a bigger pool of clients, unlocking new revenue streams. More and more clients began to see the business value of MSPs. They invested in their services, facilitating the shift to subscription fee models that provided regular cash flow and predictable revenue to MSPs.

Today, MSPs are integral to the growth and evolution of the IT industry. They have been a boon to cash-strapped SMBs, bolstering them with enterprise-level infrastructure at a price they can afford. All this was made possible with RMM, allowing MSPs to grow at an exponential rate.

Beyond performing IT tasks, an RMM solution directly affects an MSP’s capacity for customer acquisition, operational costs, profits and even the work-life balance of technicians. Here are some ways MSPs leverage RMM to drive growth:

• RMM empowers MSPs to win more clients without being burdened by high customer acquisition costs.
• It provides a higher endpoint-to-technician ratio, allowing MSPs to manage more clients without expanding their technician base, thus saving on resources.
• RMMs that integrate seamlessly with other critical tools, like PSA and documentation solutions, help MPSs improve client service, collections and overall business operations.
• Automation also helps reduce operational costs since technicians no longer need to perform tasks manually. It also reduces errors, making it easier for technicians to provide better customer service.

Here’s a case study of how RMM can be a game changer for businesses. Jacobs Engineering Group had a very manual process for updating computers and was struggling to maintain systems. They leveraged Kaseya VSA to automate software updates and patch management, which made their systems secure. VSA turned out to be highly cost-effective, enabling them to replace multiple ineffective products with one very efficient solution at a lower cost.

How does RMM software work?

No two RMM solutions look the same, but how they generally operate is quite similar. In this section, we will broadly cover the steps involved in deploying, configuring and using an RMM solution.

Step 1: Deploying an RMM agent

As with any software, you begin by downloading an RMM software of your choice and configuring it to communicate with the RMM server. An advanced RMM solution, like Kaseya VSA, provides multitenancy so that you can manage thousands of endpoints and client sites from a single software instance.

Step 2: Agent configuration

While the main RMM platform acts as the all-seeing eye into the IT infrastructure of your clients, the information is delivered to it by an RMM agent installed on all managed devices. Therefore, correctly configuring the RMM agents is an important step that must be performed carefully. Once configurations like login credentials, communication frequency, access permission, security protocols or any plugins or features that you want to use are in place — do a test run. You can also add new agents as needed or remove old ones.

Step 3: Device discovery and inventory

Once the RMM agent is installed on an endpoint, it begins the process of device discovery and inventory. It collects essential data like operating system version, applications installed and hardware details to add to the RMM database. This comes in handy whenever an issue needs to be resolved or when action is taken on an endpoint. The agent also monitors the health and performance of devices, sending notifications to the RMM in real-time so technicians can take immediate action.

Step 4: Remote and real-time monitoring

Once deployed, advanced RMMs, like VSA, hit the ground running and start unlocking performance efficiencies from day one. Even for devices located remotely, technicians can address issues like patching, software updates, low disk space, password resets and connectivity from their RMM. For example, an RMM agent can detect when a device’s memory is running low and alert the MSP, who can then remotely provision additional memory. RMM agents also collect and transmit system logs to the RMM so that the platform can detect and nip potential issues proactively. RMMs also assist MSPs in identifying out-of-warranty devices, helping them take action on time.

Step 5: Automating and scripting

Top-of-the-line RMMs, like VSA, come loaded with advanced automation capabilities that help MSPs save time and money by streamlining mundane tasks. For instance, MSPs can automate patch deployment and software updates, making sure patches are applied to hundreds of devices in a matter of minutes. Automating tasks minimizes the possibility of human error, which can otherwise lead to service disruptions and security risks for businesses and their clients. MSPs that use automation enjoy more streamlined operations, higher customer satisfaction rates and better time and cost savings.

Step 6: Alerts and notification

The RMM agents work tirelessly to send real-time alerts to MSPs on everything from warnings about failed backups to system vulnerabilities that require a response. MSPs, on their end, leverage their RMMs to triage alerts so they can begin addressing issues based on criticality and importance.

Step 7: Policy enforcement

MSPs leverage RMMs to set and enforce policies. These policies can include security, data protection or other administrative policies. This proactive approach not only safeguards against potential threats but also ensures that devices not in use are promptly disconnected from the network.

Step 8: Reporting and analytics 

This incredible feature, found in premium RMM solutions, empowers users to create personalized reports using diverse parameters, such as device health, performance trends and security status. These reports serve multiple purposes for MSPs, from helping them demonstrate the value of work to clients to aiding in compliance management and strategic planning.

What does RMM software do?

In this section, we’ll explore key RMM functions and discover the incredible ways in which it can supercharge your business.

Maintenance automation

Embracing automation is crucial for MSPs to achieve greater efficiency, diminish manual labor and optimize processes. A case in point is VSA, which equips MSPs to automate a range of everyday IT responsibilities, like patch management, the creation and response to tickets based on policies, routine server maintenance and even the auto-resolution of ransomware-level threats. This not only streamlines operations but also saves MSPs substantial time and costs.

Patch management

Safeguarding your systems against ransomware and other cyberthreats hinges on effective and timely patch management. VSA 10 offers a robust solution by enabling the auto-remediation of software vulnerabilities through a fully automated, sleep-proof patch management system. With an extensive library of over 200 third-party titles integrated into VSA, you gain the ability to patch all devices, whether on or off the network. This applies to all devices, regardless of whether they operate on Windows, Mac, or Linux platforms. Furthermore, VSA is engineered to allow rapid deployment of patches even in low-bandwidth networks, thus ensuring optimal performance.

Real-time monitoring and alerts

Visibility is key to effective monitoring. VSA 10 meets this crucial need by providing comprehensive insight into your IT environment. The user-friendly network topology map within VSA offers direct visibility, presenting a detailed breakdown of asset information for all endpoints (both agent and SNMP) on any network. Additionally, the solution incorporates monitoring/alert-driven ticket creation, email notifications and the auto-remediation of vulnerabilities through agent procedures.

Reporting and analytics

For MSPs, showing the value of their work to clients has always been a challenge. VSA delivers enterprise-grade, client-ready reports right out of the box, enabling you to demonstrate the real impact of your efforts to both non-technical clients and executives. The platform streamlines the entire reporting process, automating preparation, approval and delivery, allowing you to allocate your time to more high-value tasks. Moreover, VSA is crafted for seamless bidirectional data flow with industry-standard business intelligence solutions like Tableau and PowerBI. This integration facilitates easy reporting on the overall health of your IT ecosystem.

Curious to know what else an RMM can do for you? Check out our checklist of 11 things you should monitor and manage using your RMM.

What are the benefits of RMM?

When choosing an RMM solution, it’s important to consider features such as scalability, security, price and ease of use. It is also important to evaluate how the solution fits into your overall IT strategy and how it can help streamline operations.

Scalability

• With the right RMM in the toolkit, MSPs can seamlessly scale their operations and take on more clients without compromising on quality.
• By automating common tasks, they can make the most of their resources and ensure quick, consistent service delivery without increasing costs.

Predictability

• An RMM should help MSPs optimize their operations, enabling them to move away from a break-fix model to a subscription model.
• This approach simplifies the payment process for clients, offering them clarity on their expenses while also providing MSPs with a clear understanding of anticipated monthly revenue.
• With better visibility into the future, MSPs can make informed decisions, make strategic investments and manage costs in ways that drive growth.

Productivity

• An RMM should help facilitate a shift in IT management strategy from reactive to proactive.
• By leveraging automation, RMMs can make better use of their resources and relieve stress on their technicians, significantly boosting their capability to provide effective tech support.
• By providing improved support and security, MSPs can ensure that they meet service level agreements (SLAs) in a timely manner, which will translate to better revenue.

Sustainability

• Besides minimizing the time spent on repetitive and redundant tasks, RMMs are capable of identifying the root cause of potential problems and nipping them in the bud before they snowball into larger problems.
• Proactive maintenance means clients and end users enjoy minimal downtime and optimal service at all times.

Profitability

• RMMs help MSPs manage clients remotely, reducing the need for site visits and associated costs.
• Since most manual tasks are automated, MSPs can onboard more clients without hiring more technicians, which aids cost-effective growth.
• As RMMs can perform multiple functions like patching, monitoring and ransomware detection, MSPs can eliminate the need for individual solutions and slim down their tech stacks, boosting their profitability.
• Streamlined and consistent service delivery increases customer satisfaction, which leads to higher revenue and profit.

What to look for in an RMM solution

Choosing the right RMM solution from the hundreds available in the market can be a tricky job. We have identified three key features that you should look out for that are hallmarks of high-quality RMMs.

Simplified deployment and administration

The RMM should score well on both the device-centric and user-centric metrics. It should be able to perform complex tasks and have all the functionality that an IT professional needs to manage a modern IT infrastructure while being easy to use. VSA fits the bill. Designed with the end user in mind, it has an intuitive user interface that reduces the learning curve. VSA has a checkbox graphic user interface (GUI) approach that is implemented at the global or customer organization level without the need to manually recreate policies, thereby ensuring quick and consistent deployment of configurations. The solution is also highly scalable and can monitor tens of thousands of endpoints, with one instance enabling MSPs to scale and grow freely.

Centralized management

Effective centralized management is essential for streamlining operations and reducing overheads. For instance, having a centralized system for tracking customer inquiries and issues can help address customer concerns quickly and efficiently. Using VSA, you can monitor, manage and secure endpoints from one central location. It also provides real-time analytics and insights, allowing you to make informed decisions about your network.

Seamless integration

Having your RMM integrate seamlessly with your core IT solutions gives you the ultimate competitive advantage when it comes to efficiency, customer service and scalability. Legacy RMMs are often more difficult to integrate with other core IT solutions, resulting in higher costs and more time spent on implementation. On the other hand, VSA, being part of Kaseya’s IT Complete platform, provides seamless integration with a solution for every need of the DO-IT-ALL IT professional. Whether it’s solutions for IT operations, security, audit and compliance, business services or networking, we have you covered. With each solution’s interface mirroring the other, technicians need not master multiple solutions to build integrated workflows for maximum efficiency.

Remote monitoring and management with Kaseya VSA

VSA is a true unified RMM solution that can monitor, manage and secure your entire IT ecosystem. It is unified in terms of bundling powerful features like remote control, software/patch management, executive reporting and endpoint monitoring into a single, easy-to-use solution. This means you can manage all your IT assets from a single platform, saving you time and money. Moreover, it makes IT management much easier, as technicians no longer have to switch between multiple systems and programs.

Add to it cutting-edge automation, and you will experience a remarkable 50% boost in technician efficiency, leading to significant cost savings, complete customer satisfaction and a boost in overall productivity. Security on your mind? VSA offers best-in-class security with native ransomware detection and seamless integration with advanced solutions like endpoint detection and response (EDR) and access to one of the best-managed security operations centers (SOC) for complete protection.

Even with all of this said, we’ve barely scratched the surface. Simply put, VSA is the most powerful and easy-to-use RMM solution on the market today. Dive into the power of VSA now and make your IT management a breeze! Click here for a FREE demo!

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Organizations need a unified endpoint management (UEM) solution that provides greater visibility into all endpoints for better device usage and health monitoring, vulnerabilities and patch management, cybersecurity, and all other essential IT functions. Read on to understand the significance of investing in a UEM and why it is an indispensable tool for organizations of all sizes. 

What is unified endpoint management (UEM)?

A UEM is a cloud-based (or on-premise) endpoint management solution that allows organizations to monitor, manage and secure all their endpoint devices from a single console, irrespective of the operating system or location. Compared to traditional mobile device management solutions, UEM tools pack a lot more punch, offering innovative features and capabilities to secure and manage diverse IT environments.

What is the objective of unified endpoint management?

By centralizing endpoint management, UEM enhances the scope of device administration and data security to a great extent. It improves several facets of IT management, such as threat detection, mitigation and remediation capabilities, security updates, software and OS deployment, patch management, logging, mobile device management, device compliance and remote-control options, to name a few. 

Why do we use unified endpoint management?

Relying on multiple endpoint management tools to manage and secure different endpoint devices in multiple locations increases the risk of inconsistencies and misconfigurations for organizations. With hybrid work culture becoming the norm, users switching between various devices to do their work, and enterprises incorporating IoT and other new technologies, UEM has become even more significant for organizations to monitor and manage endpoints efficiently and prevent security incidents. 

As the demand for endpoint management solutions surges, it is essential to learn about the different types of solutions available in the market and how UEM is a cut above the rest. 

What is the difference between endpoint management and unified endpoint management?

Unlike traditional endpoint management solutions that support only specific endpoints or operating systems, UEM is device- and OS-agnostic. It is the latest tool in a series of endpoint management tools with robust features that efficiently caters to modern enterprises’ remote IT management needs.

Here is a brief introduction to the evolution of endpoint management systems.

MDM vs. EMM vs. UEM

Mobile device management (MDM) solutions are among the earliest endpoint management tools that enable IT teams to undertake simple device management tasks, like configuring emails and applying security controls. However, MDM tools are more device-centric and do not provide comprehensive mobile application management (MAM) and mobile content management (MCM) features.

Enterprise mobility management (EMM) tools expand MDM’s capabilities by providing extensive MAM and MCM features, enabling users to balance optimal device usage and security. With EMM tools, organizations can provide secure access to company resources and undertake policy-based device management, data and document security and app customization. 

UEM is an integrated endpoint management system that enables organizations to meet all their IT needs, regardless of whether it’s endpoint management, monitoring, patching, security and more, through a centralized platform. It instantly reduces tool sprawl, eliminating the need to invest in different solutions for each task. Moreover, state-of-the-art UEM solutions, like Kaseya VSA, come equipped with automation capabilities that help automate mundane tasks, like patching and password resets, freeing up technician time and streamlining IT operations workflows. By implementing an endpoint solution, businesses can confidently meet today’s demands and prepare for tomorrow’s challenges.

Read our blog to learn more about the difference between MDM, EMM and UEM. 

What are the features of unified endpoint management?

Some of the distinctive features of UEM are:

• Software and OS deployment: UEM solutions allow automated software and operating system deployment in all the devices across an organization’s network from a central console without any manual intervention.  
• Patch management and update installation: With UEM’s automatic patch management and update installation features, fixing a vulnerability across all endpoints within an organization’s network takes minutes.
• Policy enforcement: The centralized console in UEM software allows IT admins to enroll and preconfigure the managed devices and ensure that all the organizational policies are seamlessly enforced on all devices. The data isolation and application control capabilities of UEM help IT admins ensure that only authorized users get access to company resources.
• Threat detection and mitigation: As device monitoring becomes efficient with UEM software, it enables early detection of threats, enabling organizations to mitigate them before they cause any damage. 
• Identity and access management: UEM solutions come with in-built or integrated multifactor authentication (MFA) and single sign-on (SSO) features, enabling users to authenticate only once after the device has been offline for a set period rather than trying to open a new app each time. While this ensures security, it makes accessing resources easy for users, thus aiding productivity.

What are the benefits of unified endpoint management?

These features enable UEM software to offer a variety of benefits to organizations, such as:

• Improved visibility: Through a single interface, UEM significantly improves visibility across all endpoint devices and connected networks, allowing enterprises to monitor data usage, inventory, vulnerability systems and more. With continuous visibility, security teams can detect and mitigate possible threats before they harm the organization.
• Valuable insights: UEM solutions generate massive volumes of endpoint device data. Analyzing this data enables organizations to make data-driven business decisions and improve productivity. 
• Enhanced user experience: A fragmented IT environment is defined by tools that barely integrate, which limits visibility into the complete IT environment. Moreover, technicians spend a lot of time switching between apps, which slows down work and makes completing simple jobs a hassle. UEM solutions with centralized consoles provide complete visibility into IT environments, helping technicians eliminate problems before they occur and improving user experience. 
• IT cost reduction: By automating many IT processes and tasks, including endpoint auditing, provisioning and data loss functions, UEM solutions reduce overhead costs and hardware expenses.
• BYOD support: UEM solutions enable users to self-enroll and have their devices provisioned automatically to be productive from the outset.
• Compliance support: At a time when organizations have to adhere to multiple compliance regulations that keep changing regularly, UEM ensures that all devices in an organization remain up to date and compliant with the necessary regulations. 
• Simplified onboarding: With a simplified device enrollment and configuration process, UEM enables users to start using the device with better baselining quickly. 
• Fortified IT security: UEM helps enforce security policies at various levels to ensure a strict organization-wide defense policy against all threats. Besides, IT admins can provide personalized access to corporate data and specific applications according to location, usage patterns and business roles, enhancing cyberdefense even further.

Enhance network security with unified endpoint management from Kaseya

With the growing number of endpoints, organizations need a modern approach to managing IT that simplifies endpoint complexity while providing in-depth security. Kaseya VSA 10 is a leading UEM platform that combines endpoint and network management, reducing the cost of licensing different solutions and the associated headaches of managing multiple vendor relationships.

With VSA 10, you can:

• Get enhanced visibility into your new areas, including cloud (e.g., laaS, PaaS, and SaaS), legacy infrastructure (e.g., computers, network, storage and clients) and applications.
• Get Discovery and Audit capabilities that always provide current information, regardless of whether devices are online or offline.
• Streamline workflows and receive consolidated tracking and reporting for compliance.
• Improve operational productivity and service levels through IT automation.
• Achieve a role-based, bird’s eye view of infrastructure monitoring.

To see the capabilities of VSA 10, book your demo today!  

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Automated Remediation with Scripts

Automated remediation means that your IT management tools can fix issues automatically by executing scripts in response to an alert.  Here’s a simple example: you have set up a monitor that generates an alert when disk space is low on a server or workstation. Next, you want to automatically validate that condition. Then, remediate the problem by executing a script to clean up the disk space. Lastly, you may want to run a weekly report on all of the alerts that have occurred during the prior week. The process flow looks like the following:

Obviously, this type of automation means that you, as the IT technician, don’t have to respond to that alert yourself and go perform disk cleanup on that device. It also means that your support desk doesn’t need to get a support ticket from the department that uses that device saying they’re running out of space. It’s all taken care of automatically. Viola!

Of course, the flow diagram above could be slightly more complex– the automated remediation for some process may fail sometimes. Then, the system should generate a service ticket automatically and could also send you a notification that there’s (still) a problem. So, you only need to get involved when there’s a more serious problem.

And, by the way, that automatically generated IT service ticket should have lots of detailed information that helps reduce the time to resolution. For example, it could have a device name, device location, last logged on user, last time there was an alert on this device, etc.

Driving Automation Based on Policies

Policies allow you to take advantage of all of the different capabilities of the endpoint management solution and drive automation. Policies also help you create standardization of your IT processes.

For example, let’s say you want to establish a policy for how you monitor and manage all of your SQL Server machines. The policy definition could include “monitor sets,” to define what needs to be monitored and when alerts are generated. It could also include automation scripts (like the above) and schedules for things like how often these machines are inventoried, when they get patched, etc. Here’s a screenshot of Kaseya VSA showing a SQL Server Policy setup:

Automation Exchange

You can save even more time by getting automation scripts that have already been built by others in our Automation Exchange. No need to reinvent the wheel. There are more than 500 scripts and other resources in the Automation Exchange.

Automated remediation reduces the number of issues that require technician attention and allows them to focus on other more critical issues and strategic initiatives. Policy-based IT management allows you to define standard, best practice processes for how you monitor and manage your IT environment.

To learn about Kaseya’s VSA endpoint and network management solution, download our product brief here. You can also request a demo of VSA.

Posted by Oscar Romero

Oscar began his career at Kaseya eight years ago as a support engineer. Between then and now, Oscar was the managing engineer at a Service Provider which pushes the levels of automation to the highest capacities. Experienced in both the business technical side of endpoint and network management, Oscar returned to Kaseya to serve in Product Management to provide our partners and users with the best experience from a product and service perspective.

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Since then, there has been no looking back. The second wave was that of the smartphones, followed by the tablets, and now the wearables. These devices are becoming more deeply ingrained in our day-to-day lives at home and at work. We are currently tipping 17 Billion connected devices worldwide and this number is expected to touch 34 Billion by 2025. While the proliferation of this increasingly connected world provides an opportunity to be more efficient in how we do things, it raises some strong security concerns for  users that cannot be ignored.

Take a look around

An average person is expected to use around 6 network connected devices by 2020. Even the most technically challenged person use at least two — namely, laptop and cellphone. A major chunk of this number gets fueled by trends like bring your own device (BYOD) and work from home.

For most people, work starts at the office desk but ends at a coffee shop or the subway. Thanks to cloud computing, which gives you enough horsepower to carry your work around, irrespective of your location or device.

However, before expanding into this new digital frontier, there are certain things business leaders and decision makers should understand. Every new device being added to the network creates another potential loophole for cybercriminals to exploit. A recent study highlights the severity of these security threats as 42% of the respondents agreed to have experienced a breach, and 42% of those respondents had been breached on employees’ personal laptops.

The risk involved

Remember, your general security is only as strong as your weakest link. In this case, it’s endpoints. Your phones, laptops, wearables, smart homes and IoT devices are all connected to the same network. If someone is savvy enough to get access to your network — what are the odds that they will not be able to get access to your devices?

Your laptop might have the best security features, but what about that smart system in your home? Is it equally tough to break into? The moment a hacker gets access to one of these devices on the network, it opens the floodgates of attacks on every other device accessing that network. Also, as data is being extracted from small devices to large projects — threat comes not only from individual attackers but also from larger companies trying to get access to the data generated by your IoT devices for commercial gain.

Your employees are just trying to do their jobs with the best intentions, sometimes working on the go and sometimes working after-hours. But in the process of doing so, they are sharing highly sensitive information over non-secure devices and applications. The threat of your personal and official data falling into the hands of a competitor are both frightening and real. The worst thing you can do is to deceive yourself into thinking that you are not vulnerable to such attacks.

Monitor Devices = More Monitoring

As people spread their work across these devices, they want round-the-clock access to applications and services. And to provide that, your network needs to be up and running 24/7 This is where network monitoring comes in.

Network monitoring is your first line of defense against any sort of abnormal behavior in your infrastructure. Your network monitoring tool correlates data from different parts of the IT infrastructure, drilling-down to identify the underlying technical components, determining the sources of performance degradation, and then where applicable, rapidly making the configuration changes to remediate the problem.

Traditional network management solutions are bogged down by disparate monitoring and configuration tracking capabilities with no correlation between them. Unexpected configuration changes can result in major network outages, which can then take an extremely long time to track down. This drives up costs for the enterprise and affects overall business performance.

VSA’s advanced network monitoring addresses these challenges by providing business service monitoring, IT performance management, and flexible configuration management in one unified integrated system, right within VSA. The innovative service container technology enables IT personnel and management to create unique virtual views of discrete IT services, making the alignment of infrastructure technology with business performance a reality. To know more or book a free demo.

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Today, you not only need to manage laptops and devices used by a highly distributed workforce, you also need the capability to do your job away from the office by managing remotely. Let’s look at the challenges to properly monitoring and managing your mobile workforce (sometimes called off network monitoring), and how to overcome those challenges successfully and efficiently.

The Challenges of Off Network Monitoring

In today’s global and cloud environment, leaving the office and network doesn’t mean leaving behind corporate data─your job doesn’t end when your workforce leaves the office. Nor does your leaving the office mean your work is done. You are still responsible for the security and monitoring of all your systems.

IT managers need to be able to access and manage devices anywhere in the world, at any time. Routine maintenance, updates, and patches all need to be done in a timely manner for security and compliance. This can be a problem when it is not possible to wait until the employee – or you – are back in the office.

If you are worried about issues caused by remote and mobile device usage, you are not alone. A recent Information Week Strategic Security Survey revealed the following results:

• 64% were concerned about sensitive data being accessed when the device is lost or stolen.
• 59% felt that it was likely that infected personal devices would be connected to the corporate network.
• 37% were afraid of malicious apps being downloaded by a user.

It’s a serious, and potentially costly, issue. It is estimated that over $7 billion was spent in 2015 for desktop and mobile solutions. Unfortunately, that money was often spent on programs that did not integrate IT functions, nor solve the problem of how to manage a device that is not in-house.

How Kaseya Addresses These Challenges

Kaseya comes from a Sioux Indian term meaning “to secure, to protect,” and that is exactly what Kaseya’s Virtual System Administrator (VSA) does. Kaseya VSA allows you to manage security, compliance, auditing, and more, from one centralized console, even if your users – or you – are remote and off the corporate network. You simply install an agent on the devices manually, or let VSA detect devices and automatically install the agents. No other software, no extensive installation processes, and no further action needed for Kaseya to work.

Kaseya gives you:

• Control of all IT assets – network, desktop, peripherals, and mobile, whether they are local or remote, on network or off – through one central console
• Geographical independence with the ability to work anywhere at any time – even if you or the user you’re supporting is off network
• Automatic patching and updates for equipment and software, including third-party applications – even if the device is sitting on a counter at home. You no longer have to rely on users or wait until the end of the work day to keep devices up-to-date
• Near instantaneous remote connections – reliable even if the device being accessed is in an airport or on the employee’s kitchen counter
• Separate corporate from personal data by placing it in an encrypted area on mobile and remote devices, keeping it secure and giving you the power to locate and wipe data from stolen or lost devices, or from devices of de-provisioned users, wherever they are – without disturbing personal data

Now that’s remote!

No matter what market segment you are in, Kaseya VSA will work for you just as it has for thousands of mid-to-large enterprises, financial services, healthcare providers, education systems, government and military institutions, and over half the top MSPs.

Learn more about how Kaseya gives you peace of mind through effective centralized management by downloading The Time-Strapped IT Pro’s Guide to Getting More Done – Manage Remotely and Seconds Matter: Resolve Issues Quickly with Remote Desktop Management today!

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