The Convergence  -  Endpoint Security and Endpoint Management
While the concept of consolidation is certainly not new to IT organizations, its application is gradually expanding. This convergence of endpoint security and endpoint management has grown to include not just servers and other hardware, but also IT operations and tools.

IT security and administrative teams are discovering common functions, challenges, and strategic goals and have begun to share ideas for addressing them more efficiently. Other indicators surface in policies designed to ensure business continuity and regulatory compliance through sound information protection and management practices. It can be measured as IT organizations respond to management’s directives to control costs while supporting new business initiatives.

The most telling evidence of the convergence of IT security and management can be seen by taking a look at the state of the typical IT endpoint itself. These ever-connected mobile and non-mobile devices have become not only a critical component of today’s IT infrastructure but also a high-risk element of today’s business environment. Their security is as essential as their management.

What’s more, endpoint security is made possible through endpoint management. In fact, according to Gartner, 65 percent of all system weaknesses are due to poor system configuration, while another 30 percent can be resolved through patch management.  In other words, 95 percent of security problems can be addressed through better endpoint management.

Clearly, the convergence of endpoint security and management has begun. Organizations that are successfully adopting this more efficient and effective IT approach are leveraging a similarly well-integrated, automated set of endpoint security and management tools that support and facilitate this model. In doing so, these organizations are also taking a giant step toward transforming IT from being viewed as yet another cost center to considering it a vital business enabler.
 
 Author: Ajay Verma – Director, Channels and Alliances, Symantec India