Endpoint Security Management: How It Benefits Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Users
In the world of technology, there is always a new concept or tool or technique or trend to learn…but there is usually a reason you need to know about it. This is absolutely the case with endpoint security management. While this blog post is addressed to Microsoft Dynamics Business Central users, it applies to any organization that deals with security concerns. In this post, we discuss how Microsoft approaches endpoint management and how organizations with Microsoft technologies—including Dynamics 365 Business Central, Microsoft 365 (Office), and Microsoft Azure—can benefit.
Endpoint Security Management Defined
Endpoint security management is generally defined as the processes and policies that help with supervising and authenticating access rights of endpoint devices to a network to prevent threats due to exposure.
Microsoft’s Endpoint Manager includes services and tools to manage and monitor endpoints in your business environment—cell phones, tablets, point of sale units, desktop computers, virtual machines, embedded devices, or servers, for example. This solution combines familiar services like Microsoft Intune, Configuration Manager, Desktop Analytics, co-management, and Windows Autopilot to help secure access, protect data, and respond to and manage risk. The power lies in the ability to push policies up to applications (e.g., email, CRM, or Business Central) and out to devices that are part of Endpoint Manager.
The Benefits of Endpoint Security Management: Improving Data Security—and Making It Easier to Manage Devices and Software
The purpose of endpoint security management—and Microsoft Endpoint Manager—is to define how users are allowed to access applications. So, for example, a user won’t see an application on their desktop if they don’t have the rights or permissions to use it. This is determined by the company’s policies, which are pushed up to every device the company allows to access its network.
Another benefit of endpoint security management is onboarding. Consider this example:
At some point before a new employee’s start date, IT reaches out to them, welcoming them and notifying them they will be receiving their company laptop. The company has purchased the laptop from their preferred provider and had it drop-shipped to the employee.
Because the laptop is controlled by the Microsoft Endpoint Manager, the employee needs only to turn it on and answer a few basic questions—location, basic setup, WiFi location, for example—provide their credentials, and the Endpoint Manager automatically begins pushing out all the applications and the applicable policies to the laptop. In about an hour, the laptop is ready to go, including any policy regarding any application or tool or system set by the company. Once that process is completed, the employee then does the same with Teams, Outlook, and any other tool or application they need.
As long as the employee has an internet connection, can answer the questions, and provide the right credentials, they get everything they need to be work-ready in a very short amount of time—with no interaction needed from them. This eliminates the need for the IT department to buy a device and have it sent to them first, where they configure it, install apps, and manually push out the appropriate policies and then ship it to the employee.
And then there is the issue of keeping devices, software, and policies up to date.
With Microsoft Endpoint Manager, your IT staff can push updates out to any device that is enrolled. Endpoint Manager is literally part of your company’s IT infrastructure, working behind the scenes to keep all your devices up to date and secure, protecting your data and IP.
A New Level of Data Security—Even for Smartphones
Another very powerful benefit of endpoint security management applies to smartphones—that is, mobile phones with internet connectivity that can run apps. With solutions like Microsoft Endpoint Manager, you can apply company policies to employee smartphones, which is particularly helpful today, when many employees bring their own device (BYOD) to use for work purposes. If an employee who is using their personal cell phone for work leaves the company, you can put policies in place that protect company data on that device so you could remove that data when the employee leaves.
Act Now: Endpoints are the Starting Point for Security Breaches
Why is endpoint security management so important? Because nearly all successful security breaches start with endpoints. If you do not manage and control your end points effectively, you leave your company vulnerable to cyber attacks. And with the increasing number of endpoints in business today, leaving them unprotected a dangerous gamble.
For that reason, it’s important to get started now—which is not difficult or costly. Endpoint security is a layered approach, so take all these very important and effective steps:
- Implement multifactor authentication. This should be a priority.
- Educate employees about password management, handling suspicious emails, voice mails, packages, or texts, and the threat landscape in general, including the vulnerability of endpoints. The more they know about the role they play in the security and data protection process, the better equipped and more likely they will be to follow through and behave responsibly.
- Put a solid backup strategy in place to protect your data.
- Contact ArcherPoint or your Dynamics or other technology provider to discuss your security needs and how Microsoft Endpoint Manager or other endpoint management solutions can help you close those gaps and protect your organization.
Good cybersecurity starts with understanding what you can do. In our webinar Demystifying Cybersecurity with ArcherPoint, we pack a lot into 30 minutes, including endpoint management, password health, backups, end user education, and more.