Why Organizations Are Adopting UEM Technology Slower Than They Must

When thinking about how best to guide an organization into the future, it’s easy to ask what you could gain from any given strategy. It’s more difficult to answer the question of what would be lost if you didn’t choose a specific option. 

As the creators of SureMDM, a Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) solution, we at 42Gears often highlight what you can gain from adopting UEM software. But you also need to ask yourself what you would lose by not adopting UEM technology in the workplace. This is a novel viewpoint from which to ask why UEM technology adoption needs to happen faster- not just because of the explicit benefits of UEM software, but because of the hidden difficulties that arise without it. 

Let’s consider three major ways that companies without UEM software lose out- and why UEM technology adoption must happen sooner, rather than later. 

Short-Sighted Focus on Short-Term Savings

One reason why companies might be afraid of investing in UEM technology is that they are unsure if they can justify the purchase price, relative to simply using whatever tools they already have on hand. In the short term, this might seem reasonable- but in the long term, UEM technology adoption can more than re-coup the initial cost of investment. 

An IT team will need to invest time into setting up a UEM solution upon first deciding to use it, but the benefits appear almost immediately thereafter. As an example, SureMDM allows rapid device enrollment across a wide range of operating systems; if you add any devices to your network on an ongoing basis, then the time saved per-device with SureMDM will quickly out-pace the initial set-up time. 

IT teams will also need to learn how to use the central UEM web console, which might eat into the time admins typically allocate for device repairs. Once mastered, the UEM console facilitates easier device repairs than ever before- remote control functionality allows admins to repair devices without being physically present, reducing related traveling expenses to zero. 

No good employee intends to, or wants to, lose key devices, but it occurs frequently enough to be a major concern. If a company has no good way to keep data safe on lost or stolen devices, then the company is at the mercy of whoever obtains that device, potentially costing a company both money and its reputation. UEM technology adoption helps, as admins can remotely wipe or reboot devices from the central web console, minimizing the risk of losing devices, or of lost devices being compromised. 

Reluctance to Move On From Antiquated Hardware and Software

For any organization that was founded more than five or ten years ago, it’s inevitable that antiquated hardware will be present somewhere in the workplace. If this is the case, it’s also quite likely that this antiquated technology is at the center of the company’s workflows. If it is, then companies might balk at the logistical complexity and cost of upgrading the technology at the core of its network. In the long term, not upgrading old technology exponentially increases the logistical complexity of running your network smoothly. 

If an organization depends on an operating system that stops receiving official support, then the company must choose between upgrading all devices at once or accepting major security risks. Either option could have downsides; abrupt upgrading can lead to compatibility issues, and unsecured networks present opportunities for malicious actors to compromise key data. UEM technology adoption lets organizations establish a framework that does not depend on any particular piece of hardware, making the process of upgrading devices down the road much easier as well. 

In order to facilitate transitions between older devices and UEM software, 42Gears offers tools to integrate legacy devices into SureMDM’s network. Once these devices (like Windows 7 computers) are part of SureMDM, upgrading them to modern operating systems like Windows 10 is straightforward. 

Misplaced Plans for “Planned Obsolescence”

Manufacturers and consumers alike have grown accustomed to “planned obsolescence”- regularly replacing older devices with incrementally-improved hardware. With a system like this, buying the latest product may not be a good idea, as something even better will surely appear in a year’s time. With this logic, companies may choose to ignore UEM technology adoption with the logic that it will be replaced by something better. 

It is important to understand that planned obsolescence does not apply to UEM solutions like SureMDM. The technology underpinning SureMDM, for example, can expand to accomodate more kinds of devices and functions in the future. SureMDM once focused on mobile device management exclusively, but has come to include tablets, computers, VR devices, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and much more. 

By upgrading from a hardware-dependent framework to one that can accept all sorts of technology, you can use UEM technology adoption to reduce the impact of planned obsolescence on your organization. Even if individual devices need to be replaced every few years, the management platform does not. 

Conclusion

Organizations have several reasons to avoid UEM technology adoption- and in the short term, these reasons may seem valid. However, as time passes, increased costs, inefficiency, and security liabilities inherent to outdated systems outweigh any initial reasons to avoid updating. SureMDM has the tools you need to quickly and easily bring all of your devices into a consolidated management system.