Managing PC fleets securely, efficiently, and sustainably is becoming increasingly challenging. Existing fleet management obstacles have been amplified by growing hybrid and remote working patterns – the rise of the anywhere workforce – and threats targeting endpoints, like ransomware. Fleet management is more than a routine IT task. It’s a core aspect of maintaining operational resilience, keeping organizations up and running.

Many enterprises wonder how they can future-proof the way they manage their fleets. New HP-commissioned research conducted by Forrester Consulting explores these challenges, revealing how companies are struggling to maintain accurate asset inventories, address security risks proactively, and ensure a good user experience. 75% of the IT and security leaders surveyed reported that the shift to remote and hybrid working models has magnified their IT operational challenges. The study highlights the need for companies to adopt always-on endpoint management to cater for increasingly dispersed global workforces.

The flexibility of being able to work and hire employees all over the world is one of the many benefits of living in a digital economy. Yet as the workplace evolves, security must too. To offer secure, efficient, and user-friendly IT experiences in the future, companies will need an always-on endpoint management infrastructure that can support this new way of working. – Dr. Ian Pratt, Global Head of Security for Personal Systems at HP

Key Findings

• The digital workplace is evolving: With 72% of surveyed enterprises following a hybrid work model, the Forrester research highlights the need for organizations to be able to manage their endpoints in decentralized environments, emphasizing productivity and security. The study reveals that many organizations are overlooking firmware management, with only 42% performing firmware updates annually, opening doors to security risks and inefficiencies.
• Modern asset management is growing in complexity: The study found the challenge of maintaining precise and up-to-date asset databases has intensified, with many organizations struggling in this arena. Coupled with growing regulatory and internal audit pressures, Forrester calls for a dramatic overhaul in how businesses track and manage their digital assets, especially in a remote work setting.
• Enterprises are prioritizing endpoint security but are ill equipped: Endpoint security is a high priority for enterprises, but many are struggling with ineffective tools. 50% of respondents cited inadequate endpoint security solutions as an obstacle to addressing security and management challenges. Over half of IT leaders (54%) believe full-disk encryption provides substantial protection for endpoints but acknowledge it is not enough to keep device data secure.
• Always-on endpoint management is key for keeping organizations resilient: The research found a shared recognition among IT leaders of the need to invest in advanced solutions for endpoint security and management. Forrester highlights the value of always-on fleet management for improving enterprise resilience and efficiency, citing advanced find, lock, and erase solutions. These solutions offer improved data protection, operational smoothness, and help achieve management governance goals in the context of increased regulatory pressure, such as with the Network and Information Security Directive (NIS2) in the European Union.

About the Research

The study, commissioned by HP and carried out by Forrester Consulting, surveyed 312 IT and security decision makers at companies with 500 or more employees across multiple industries in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific and Japan. The study began in March 2023 and was completed in September 2023.

Read the Study

Download the study: Forrester Mastering Endpoint Security In A Hybrid World