IBM Endpoint Manager: Unified Lifecycle Management for Distributed Endpoints

Originally published on July 13th, 2012 on IBM Service Management's YouTube Channel

IBM Tivoli Endpoint Manager for Lifecycle Management, built on BigFix technology, addresses the management challenges of distributed environments with real-time visibility and advanced functionality.

Most enterprise networks are highly distributed. Users are connecting to your HQ site from across the Internet, from remote offices, and using smartphones and tablets -- making systems management extremely challenging. Additionally, most organizations have bandwidth constraints somewhere in the network, making the delivery of large software packages over these latency-prone links a huge burden for the IT organization. Moreover, many devices are intermittently connected -- making validating and updating their configuration virtually impossible. Finally, most organizations support at least two operating systems, making cross-platform support a must-have for any systems management solution. 

IBM Endpoint Manager, built on BigFix technology was purpose-built to work efficiently within these types of environments. The Endpoint Manager agents can be deployed on all types of devices, whether those are running Windows, Max OS X, mobile device operating systems, , different flavors of UNIX, or Linux. This agent is the "brains" of the unified management platform and continuously assesses the state of the endpoint against policy, whether connected to the network or not. As soon as it notices that an endpoint is out of compliance with a policy or checklist, the agent informs the server and executes the configured remediation strategy, for instant access to up-to-date reporting. 

This unified endpoint management delivers centralized visibility and control by converging endpoint protection, configuration and life cycle management, and mobile device management functions in to a single tool. With IBM Endpoint Manager, you can optimize processes by bringing them together under a single management umbrella—while helping reduce cost and risk by reducing the number of management tools, cutting back on the number of staff hand-offs across management processes, and reducing the number of full-time equivalent personnel required to perform those processes.

IBM Endpoint Manager for Lifecycle Management provides key IT operations capabilities, including: 

• Asset discovery: Quickly discovering and identifying unmanaged network endpoints to support automatic agent installations or locate "rogue" endpoints that do not belong on the organizational network. 
• Software distribution: Providing policy-based installation, closed-loop verification and the ability to manage software distribution across multiple platforms from a single, unified point of control. 
• Operating system deployment: Shrinking deployment and migration time using centralized control and automation to simplify roll-outs to new workstations, laptops and servers throughout the network as well as OS migration and refresh for existing endpoints. 
• Patch management: Providing comprehensive capabilities for delivering patches from a full range of operating system and application vendors to distributed endpoints, shortening times for patches and updates with no loss of endpoint functionality, even over low-bandwidth or globally distributed networks. 
• Remote desktop control: Supporting desktops, laptops and servers throughout the distributed environment from a central location with management and troubleshooting of systems to streamline IT functions and reduce the help-desk workload. 

Additional capabilities can then be added with nothing more than a license key update, such as:

• Mobile device management
• Software use analysis
• PC & Mac Power management
• Security and compliance
• Anti-malware protection

To a world accustomed to multiple, fragmented technologies and point solutions, IBM Endpoint Manager, built on BigFix technology, offers an alternative: the industry's only single-console, single-agent platform that addresses operations, security and compliance initiatives in real-time and at global scale. Deployed in hours to a few days, and supporting up to 250,000 endpoints from a single management server, Endpoint Manager can lower your cost of operations immediately.