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Entgra UEM: Simplifying Windows Endpoint Management For Sysadmins

Device management, Endpoint security, MDM, Product capabilities, UEM / / / , , , , ,
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A sysadmin’s job is never done – except when it is. Effective use of the right tools can relieve you of undue stress and  Sisyphean toil.

Introduction

A day in the life of a systems administrator (sysadmin) is nothing short of daunting—and definitely not something you would want to, or have the indulgent time to, write home (127.0.0.1) about. As the phone buzzes with yet another update failure alert while you have barely recovered from last week’s patch debacle, your day calls for more than coffee inspiration to wrestle with app deployments, browser vulnerabilities, and a host of unregistered machines scattered across a remote workforce. 

Managing a large fleet of devices is no small feat, and as such, a sysadmin is always on the lookout for tools that can streamline operations, enhance security, and improve overall system efficiency. 

Today, Windows is one of the leading devices operating systems used by enterprises. According to the latest estimates, over 1.6 billion devices are globally run on Windows OS while the Office 365 suite serves over 1 million enterprises of varying sizes. There were 345 million paid users for Microsoft’s AI-powered cloud services alone in 2022. Given its prevalence, any device management platform must have extensive capabilities for Windows devices.

Entgra’s Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) platform delivers on all fronts with its conformity and support for bulk enrollment, Microsoft Store integration, comprehensive update management, advanced application control, and more. 

In this blog, we will take you through the conveniences of using Entgra UEM to handle  Windows devices from the point of view of a sysadmin, focusing on key features that simplify enrollment, task automation, and device security.

Enrolling device fleets – bulk enrollment of Windows devices

First things first. A capable device management platform should encompass feasible options for enlisting your entire device fleet swiftly and faultlessly. 

Bulk enrollment enables organizations to enroll multiple devices at once, reducing the need for manual, device-by-device setup in what appears to be fantasyland for a sysadmin. With Entgra UEM’s many enrollment options, now you can call your shots as deemed apt for your enterprise.  

Windows devices bulk enrollment using PPKGs

Provisioning Packages (PPKGs) allow sysadmins to automate the bulk enrollment of Windows devices by pre-configuring them with required settings for connecting to the UEM server. 

Entgra UEM robustly supports this method for both Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and for Corporate-Owned, Personally Enabled (COPE) devices, simplifying device management and reducing manual configuration work. Using these bulk enrollment options, you can swiftly enroll large numbers of devices with minimal effort and marginal intervention,  allowing you to focus on more pressing priorities than a hoard of brown goods. 

Windows Azure AD (Entra ID) integrated enrollment support

Windows Azure Active Directory (AD), (Entra ID), enrollment enables the use of Microsoft Azure account credentials for enrolling Azure AD registered and joined devices into the Entgra UEM server. Sysadmins can use a bulk token to generate a provisioning package (PPKG) for automatically enrolling Windows devices, making them ready for corporate use right away, rendering the Out-of-Box Experience (OOBE) for users.

This integration streamlines bulk provisioning for large-scale enterprise deployments, allowing devices to be efficiently enrolled into the Entgra UEM server with existing Azure AD credentials. 

Windows Autopilot enrollment

Windows Autopilot allows device enrollment directly from the out-of-box experience (OOBE) without IT involvement. Entgra UEM supports Autopilot, enabling zero-touch setup for corporate devices.

Sysadmins can simplify bulk deployment by registering devices with the Autopilot deployment service. On first boot, devices automatically retrieve necessary configurations from Autopilot servers, accelerating the process while enhancing the user experience remarkably. 

Core management features

Keeping all endpoints running on the Windows operating system updated is crucial for security and performance, and is therefore an integral part of system administration.

For this, the following Windows Update Management features supported by Entgra UEM are sure to help relieve the sysadmin’s burden:

OS update management

Entgra UEM provides comprehensive OS update management, allowing sysadmins to control and streamline updates across different operating systems. This functionality offers a unified view of available OS updates, helping sysadmins to efficiently manage the rollout of updates for devices across the enterprise.

Windows Update management

Similarly, Entgra UEM presents advanced features to display available Windows updates and retrieve update details using the Windows Update Agent (WUA) API. This facilitates managing and controlling the rollout of updates efficiently with trouble-free integration within the existing system infrastructure. You can conveniently initiate the update process through the Entgra UEM console by selecting and triggering installations for available updates on managed Windows devices. 

Entgra UEM’s Windows Updates interface offers comprehensive information on each update, including its status, type, and description, so that administrators can monitor and manage the update process for Windows devices efficiently.

Entgra UEM Windows agent – enhanced installation and logging

Entgra UEM has a Windows agent fine-tuned for optimal performance in administering Windows devices. It presents a simplified enrollment agent installation process by separating the installation operations. This improves flexibility by enabling you to manage each part of the installation process independently. 

Furthermore, the Entgra agent presents enhanced logs with improved visibility for troubleshooting and proactive monitoring. 

 It comprises important security features such as:

  • OTP Support: One-Time Password (OTP) functionality that adds an extra layer of security for user authentication, reducing the risk of unauthorized access.
  • SCEP Enrollment: Simplified certificate management through Simple Certificate Enrollment Protocol (SCEP) that automates the enrollment and renewal process, reducing the administrative overhead.

Windows group policy support

Entgra UEM’s Windows Group Policy support enables sysadmins to implement over 200 group policies on enrolled Windows devices, delivering functionality similar to Active Directory (AD) group policy management. This includes a robust range of Supported Policies for controlling device behavior and Restricted Policies for enforcing secure usage limitations. By leveraging Administrative Template (ADMX) files, you can define registry-based policy settings to control aspects such as device configuration, user permissions, and system security across all managed devices. This centralized control facilitates consistent and precise configurations that support organizational policies and compliance standards.

Windows Restriction Policies allow sysadmins to set limitations on specific device features, helping to secure devices by limiting access to non-essential or potentially risky functionality. These restriction policies are especially useful for managing features that may be sensitive in certain operational environments, giving sysadmins added control over how Windows devices are used within the organization.
You can configure policies for device security, user access, application settings, and more, ensuring consistent and secure configurations across all Windows devices.

By automating these policy deployments, Entgra UEM reduces manual effort, streamlines policy management, and helps organizations maintain a secure, compliant IT environment.

Automation and customization

Custom scripts and PowerShell integration for automating routine tasks

Sysadmins can automate regular, recurring administrative tasks on Windows devices using custom scripts and Windows PowerShell integration. Entgra UEM enables you to execute scripts remotely via the UEM console conveniently without manual engagement, and  the need for device-by-device intervention.

This feature also offers flexibility for running advanced configurations that are not natively supported by UEM platforms. With the ability to execute custom scripts through the Entgra UEM console, sysadmins can efficiently manage system settings, improve workflow automation, and extend endpoint management capabilities.

Application and browser control

Microsoft Store integration for Windows devices

One of the most compelling features of Entgra UEM is its seamless integration with the Microsoft Store. 

Sysadmins can publish Microsoft Store applications to Entgra App Publisher as public apps, allowing synchronization of app inventory. These applications can then be installed on Windows devices using the agent application through the Windows Package Manager. 

Curating a list of approved apps to ensure only secure and vetted software is available for installation is also made possible through Microsoft Store integration. This reduces the risk of unapproved or malicious software being installed within the organization’s network.

Advanced browser management support

Effective web browser management is vital for security, productivity, and compliance. With Entgra UEM, you can implement browser restrictions using Microsoft Edge Browser policies to configure how Microsoft Edge runs within your organization. 

These policies cover a wide range of categories including application guard settings, HTTP authentication, kiosk mode settings, screen capture permissions, printing, proxy server settings, SmartScreen settings, and more. Effective browser management capabilities ensures comprehensive control over browser behavior, enhancing security, performance, and manageability within the organization.

Next steps: Getting started with Entgra UEM

For a systems administrator, Entgra UEM significantly eases the complex tasks of managing large Windows device fleets. Its comprehensive feature set, from Microsoft Store integration to advanced update management and browser control, ensures that your enterprise endpoints are secure, up-to-date, and efficient. With Entgra, it’s a breeze to maintain a well-organized and secure IT environment, enhancing productivity and compliance across the board. 

There are two ways to get started with Entgra UEM. Sign up for our MDM trial where you have access to explore all of Entgra UEM’s capabilities for 14 days, free of charge. We also have a Premium Pilot Program especially for Windows device users. The best part is, when you join this program, you get one and a half years of free device management based on the number of devices you enroll. You’ll also get the opportunity to be in touch with our development team directly and share your feedback on what works for you and what you’d like to see in a future version of Entgra UEM.

Contact us to learn more about Entgra UEM, request for a live demo, or to join our Premium Partner Program.

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Steering the Modern Workplace with UEM

UEM, Device management, Endpoint security, Hybrid working, Industry insights / / / , , ,
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Modern hybrid workplaces

Diverse work environments

Device diversity in the workplace is here to stay. So are the intertwined work models: remote, onsite, and an ambiguous mix of both, the hybrid. Then there’s also the type of adoption specified for each device, i.e., whether dispatched by the enterprise or personally owned. These particulars are then followed up by the crucial mechanics of corporate governance, privacy rights, and security best practices that come into play. 

On the whole, the post-pandemic landscape has propelled us into a vibrantly heterogeneous work sphere that is hard to define. Much less administered.

It is therefore crucial to implement an efficient Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) solution to maintain sanity and overall functionality for both your day and the enterprise, respectively.

In this blog, we will cover the bare essentials of the following:

  • Diverse devices with their usage types operating in different work models
  • Operational challenges when managing devices across work models
  • How a good UEM solution addresses IT admin shivers
  • Getting ready for Autonomous Endpoint Management (AEM) – the future of UEM

Using scores of  devices at work: Endpoint diversity

An average office today is likely to have a fair number of different device types ranging from personal smartphones, wearables, company-owned desktops, company and/or personal laptops, tablets, VR/AR/XR accessories to the more infrequent Internet of Things (IoT) devices. 

Essentially, each device will be running on a different operating system such as  Windows, Linux, Android, iOS, macOS, etc. 

By and large, the terms of operational engagement of these devices are likely to fall into one of the following categories:

  1. BYOD – Bring Your Own Device
  2. COPE – Company-Owned Personally Enabled
  3. COBO – Company-Owned Business Only
  4. CYOD – Choose Your Own Device

The table below shows how these types compare in terms of ownership, control, and security.

mobile device management solutions entgra-Blog table op2
Steering the Modern Workplace with UEM 6


Consequently, some real-world examples of the above complexity depicting the use of device assortments across different industrial sectors will help sum this up for us. 

Device usage in different industries

  • Healthcare: Primarily onsite, doctors and nurses in hospitals often use iPads for patient records and Android smartphones for communication. They also rely on desktops running Windows for administrative tasks.
  • Retail: Distributed onsite retail stores use tablets and kiosks running Android or Windows for point-of-sale (POS) systems, inventory management, and customer self-service.
  • Transportation: Airports and train stations utilize kiosks for ticketing, check-in, and information services. Devices in kiosk mode are dedicated only for the intended purpose.
  • Tech Companies: Software developers at tech companies usually work in a hybrid model, using high-performance laptops running various operating systems at home and in the office.
  • Education: Universities and schools have adopted remote learning models, where students and teachers use a mix of personal and school-provided devices to access online classes and educational resources.
  • Field Services: Handling large fleets of devices, field service companies equip their technicians with tablets or smartphones to access job details, client information, and service manuals on the go.
  • Banks and Financial Services: Employees in financial institutions use secure desktops running Windows for trading and financial analysis, while executives may use tablets for mobility and quick access to data during meetings. These devices must comply with the security regulations of the institution.

Accordingly, device administration and management call for different approaches in the above cases.

Effective device management across different work models: The challenges

The persistent challenges of administering a device and its interactions with an enterprise’s network in all of the above scenarios boil down to:

  • Integration: Seamless integration of disparate devices and operating systems into the corporate network is complex. Each device type and OS has its own management tools and protocols, making uniform management onerous.
  • Security: Protecting sensitive corporate data across multiple devices and work environments is imperative. The proliferation of devices increases the attack surface, making it harder to enforce consistent security policies and detect vulnerabilities.
  • Compliance: Adhering to regulatory requirements and industry standards is crucial, ensuring compliance across different jurisdictions and industries. 
  • User experience: This encompasses the customer POV as well the Digital Employee Experience, coined DEX in recent times. Excessive security measures can hinder productivity, while lax security can expose the enterprise to risks.
  • Infrastructure hurdles: The cumbersome task of implementing and maintaining the required infrastructure ensuring sufficient network bandwidth, server capacity, and compatibility with various device types and operating systems.
  • Scalability: Managing the increasing number of devices and the growing complexity of device management as organizations expand, ensuring that the management solutions can scale to accommodate growth without compromising performance or security.

Conversely, a reliable UEM solution will demonstrate a comprehensive undertaking of all of the above. 

Reigning supremacy over the endpoints: Full-fledged UEM solutions

While effectively addressing the administration challenges highlighted above, a competent UEM solution will provision for a holistic approach to managing the plethora of corporate devices, users, and data that includes:

  • Comprehensive Endpoint Management Compatibility – support for all devices on multiple platforms (Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Chrome OS, Linux, etc.) for configuring, controlling, and monitoring.
  • Centralized monitoring and management: Monitor, manage, secure, and troubleshoot all endpoints across geographical boundaries via a single console.
  • Device, data, app and network security: Policy enforcements, device lock, enterprise-wipe, conditional access, allowing/denying app installing, and similar restriction policies allowing appropriate administrative control.
  • Identity and access management: Secure, convenient, and robust user authentication and access management integration capabilities.
  • Data Containerization: Enables BYOD devices to have distinct personal and corporate profiles. Secures restricted data by separating enterprise data from personal data while coexisting on the same device.
  • Remote monitoring and administration: Zero-touch enrollment, device-tracking, remote troubleshooting, push notifications, etc., that facilitate remote device administration.
  • Analytics and reporting: Advanced data insights with visual interpretations in dashboards for quick monitoring and intuitive analysis of device health and other essential metrics.
  • Integration capabilities: Seamless integration with existing IT infrastructure as well with directory services like Active Directory and LDAP, enabling centralized user authentication and access management across all endpoints for consistent user permissions. 

That’s not all! A future-ready endpoint management solution of the day will also flaunt the potential for utilitarian IT automation capabilities, as we shall touch on below.

Autonomous Endpoint Management (AEM): The future of UEM

With machine learning integration’s powerful advent, device management has also elevated to new levels. As a result, forthcoming UEM solutions will feature advanced capabilities leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) for predictive analytics, automated threat detection and mitigation, and intelligent device management.

We are now entering the next phase of UEM with Autonomous Endpoint Management (AEM), aimed at enhancing efficiency by reducing the need for manual intervention and enabling devices to self-manage routine tasks. 

As technology evolves, future-ready UEM platforms will incorporate flexible and scalable integration capabilities to seamlessly transition into AEM. Combining the most effective utilitarian features from UEM and DEX tools with AI and ML, the future of endpoint management sure looks exciting in the light of emerging AEM solutions.

Discover the full potential of what a UEM solution can help you accomplish with Entgra UEM. 

Related reading:
Making Hybrid Environments Work: How Enterprises Can Use Device Management.

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How to Manage Your Device Fleet in the Age of IIoT

Industrial IoT, Industry insights, IoT / / / ,
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Main drivers of an IIoT ecosystem, device management strategies, and getting started. 

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Photo by Lenny Kuhne on Unsplash

Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) today

The internet has grown to remarkable eminence, progressing a long way from its humble beginnings as a coke vending machine1 following basic instructions. Today, the semantic web engages with us interactively and processes information for us intelligently.

The Internet of Things (IoT) encompasses a connected system of devices and sensors with the ability to gather, process, and exchange data over a network (not necessarily the internet), thereby enabling remote monitoring, evaluation, and administration of such devices. In a broader sense, this is about the integration of people, processes, and technology with devices, harnessing the best of each and making our lives easier.

With the advent of Industry 4.0, we are thrust forward with the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). It is a common misconception to think of IIoT as an extension of IoT. In reality, however, it is just a subcategory of IoT that expands into industrial applications of IoT. IIoT has evolved from Distributed Control Systems (DCS), where autonomous controllers were distributed throughout a system with localized control. Today, it is directed towards automation and improving the operational efficiencies of large industrial processes. It also includes consumer-facing applications such as wearable devices, smart home technologies, and self-driving cars.

In essence, both IoT and IIoT consist of a system of connected devices, machines, sensors, and infrastructure that transmits data via a network with the ability to remotely administer devices and processes.

IIoT is the decisive factor that empowers the Fourth Industrial Revolution, smartly dubbed Industry 4.0. Enabled by powerful emerging technologies such as Machine Learning (ML), Artificial Intelligence (AI), advanced robotics, big data, edge computing, and other innovative breakthroughs, IIoT is becoming an inescapable big player in our lives.

IIoT technologies empowering Industry 4.0

Having leapfrogged from steam engines2 to supercomputers by the Third Industrial Revolution, Industry 4.0 explores closer integration of digital technologies with the physical world in various industries to enhance efficiency, productivity, and innovation. 

Energy conserving smart cities with optimally controlled traffic, smart factories with digital twins maneuvering laborious tasks, and collaborative robots (Cobots) working alongside human operators are only some items on the IIoT promise shelf. Insights derived from wide data sources and analytics, predictive maintenance capabilities, and progressive automation are other transformative changes brought about by leveraging the power of connected devices and data analytics, leading to heightened competitiveness and sustainable growth in industries.

The technologies enabling and empowering IIoT vary from cybersecurity, cloud computing, edge computing, machine-to-machine communication, 3D printing, extended reality (XR), advanced robotics, big data, radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, cognitive computing, and a multitude of other such advancements in different fields.

Among them, some are more potent drivers that distinctively characterize an IIoT ecosystem. These include:

  • Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS): As the term implies, these systems are composed of digital systems integrated into the physical processes of an industry. Cyber-physical systems play a pivotal role in Industry 4.0 by connecting the physical and digital realms to enable more accurate decision-making, automation, optimization, and enhanced collaboration between humans, machines, and processes. They are a fundamental component of the smart, interconnected ecosystems that characterize Industry 4.0.

  • Cloud computing: A novel concept of getting the required computing services for a specified period of time over the internet instead of provisioning local hardware and infrastructure. Cloud computing covers a wide range of services, including storage, processing power, networking, and software. It offers various service models, such as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS), catering to different levels of control and management. The elasticity of cloud computing, i.e., the ability to scale up or down as per changing workloads, ensures improved performance and efficient use of resources. Because cloud computing is a measured and on-demand service, it ensures cost-effective resource consumption and commercial viability.

  • Edge computing: This is a decentralized computing paradigm that brings computation and data storage closer to the location where they are needed instead of remotely accessing them via cloud servers. Data processing occurs at or near the “edge” of the network, typically closer to the source of data generation, which could be sensors, devices, machines, or users. Edge computing delivers reduced latency, real-time responsiveness, enhanced security, and improved bandwidth efficiency. It’s a critical technology for applications that require rapid processing and decision-making, especially in IIoT applications and Industry 4.0.
  • Big data: Comprises the massive volume of structured and unstructured data generated from various sources at a high velocity. This data is often too complex and large to be effectively processed and analyzed using traditional database management tools and methods. Big data encompasses a wide range of data types: text, images, videos, sensor readings, social media interactions, and more.
  • AI and ML: These technologies are critical requirements to transform raw data into insights that drive operational performance in industrial processes. They facilitate real-time data and updates, enhance operations, and enable predictive capabilities.
    AI and ML algorithms expedite data analysis and pattern recognition by processing large volumes of IIoT-generated data that help with predictive maintenance, anomaly detection, and real-time decision-making. Cognitive computing enables IIoT systems to understand and respond to natural language queries and instructions, thereby simplifying user interaction with complex industrial systems.

IIoT device management strategies

With Industrial IoT, we are talking about many different types of devices connected and integrated into a single digital ecosystem that seamlessly operate with each other and run multiple business processes efficiently. It is therefore imperative to have an effective device management strategy for your enterprise to ensure the security, robustness, and efficiency of your system. As an ever-increasing number of industrial devices become connected and integrated into the digital ecosystem, effective management and administration become a tedious task demanding much attention, time, and resources. Not so, however, if you have done your homework beforehand.

It is important to be aware of and proactively address the potential challenges of handling a collection of devices out at large. Some of the key factors to consider when managing fleets of disparate devices are displayed below.

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How to Manage Your Device Fleet in the Age of IIoT 10

Illustration: Device management strategy factors to consider when managing large device fleets

Securing your edge with Entgra solutions

Imagine having to herd a fleet of devices – hundreds and thousands of them at that – concurrently, efficiently, and flawlessly around the clock on multiple platforms, each with its own configuration settings and running on different operating systems? Quite the nightmare for a modern IT-admin shepherd if not for the convenience of effective device governance strategies at our disposal today. 

Endpoint devices encompass physical equipment connected to the digital ecosystem, exchanging with and sometimes processing information for the network. These include the commonly identified mobile devices, embedded devices, desktop computers, kiosks, virtual machines, servers, and wearables, as well as facilitating devices like routers, network gateways, firewalls, and load balancers.  Each of these comes with its own manufacturer and is often run on specific operating systems such as iOS, Android, or Windows. They gather, exchange, and sometimes process data which needs to be utilized securely and translated into intelligible information. This process is often handled by single-console device control and administration. Privacy regulations, device policies, and other factors that must guarantee the security of devices and data are also integral components of the process.

What the shepherd needs today, then, is a crook that can enroll, administer, and manage the whole of the device fleet with zero-touch (literally) agility and enable ceaseless, robust operation of the process with minimal intervention.

Entgra UEM for centralized device management and unified endpoint management (UEM) has extensive enterprise-wide customizable UEM features offering granular, simplified experiences and robust identity management capabilities. With its ability to trigger operations simultaneously in a device group, live feed, and Grafana-based dashboards, an IT administrator’s life is simplified manyfold.

The Entgra IoT Platform facilitates end-to-end IoT application development on one platform, giving you the ability to integrate all your devices and solutions. 

Device location tracking, enterprise wipe, device lock, and restriction policies are some of the security features Entgra offers as an accredited Google Enterprise EMM Partner for Android devices. 

Presently, our industry solutions cover factory floor monitoring, kiosk management, and utility meter connectivity. We provide customized IoT solutions catered to your specific factory floor device monitoring and control requirements and scalable kiosk management propositions befitting long-term growth. 

Entgra solutions combined would just be the shepherd’s crook that your enterprise needs to flourish unrestrained. 

Get onboard with our Try-It-Now product packages or contact us for further information on how we can help you. 

References

1. The first device on the Internet of Things – the first ARPANET-connected appliance – was a modified Coca-Cola vending machine at Carnegie Mellon University in 1982, marking the beginning of a network of smart devices. The machine was able to report its inventory and whether newly loaded drinks were cold.

2. Each Industrial Revolution has been marked by distinctive economic, social, and cultural changes. The First Industrial Revolution saw the transition from hand production methods to machines through the use of steam and water power.

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The Digital Pedagogy Learning Curve: Education 4.0, MDM, and Opportunities

Leave a Comment / Device management, Education, Industry insights, UEM, Use cases / / / , , ,
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We have come a long way since the times when education was a privilege for the chosen elite, attainable by virtue of class, religion or gender. And a long time from when sacred scriptures had to be memorized by a trusted few to transfer knowledge from one generation to the next. 

The ancient Greeks had laws in place to ensure that formal education was primarily for males and for non-slaves. In early Mesopotamia, only the royal offspring and sons of the rich or the professionals had the entitlement to be schooled, i.e., access to reading and writing. The Chinese resorted to rote memorization for teaching over 40,000 characters in their language.

In the light of such absurdities, today we are in a position to pat our own backs gleefully for being able to read ridiculous ancient teaching practices leisurely. We are also able to grasp the fact of our learning habits, too, having leapfrogged tremendously from etching on wax tablets and oral recitals to browsing content in our devices conveniently today. 

Given the enormity of the knowledge we have amassed and hoarded in numerous tricky technical formats in the present day, what is required of the sentient being now is the aptitude with which to retrieve and apply just the right resources for the problem at hand. The finesse of crafting the best with what we’ve got. The learner’s armor today, in that sense, is very much personalized to the individual, in how and what works best for each individual. 

Education 4.0

The evolution of digital pedagogy has been rapid and unprecedented. And definitely expedited by the pandemic.

We have now entered an era of innovation-driven, immersive learning experiences aided by digitized tools and techniques for effective knowledge retention and application. Today’s students are digital natives in every sense of the word – they are exposed to digital technologies at a very young age and understand how to use them, often in a very sophisticated manner.

In an ideal flipped classroom that we are headed to, the students embark upon actual problem-solving during the class hours, while reading up on theory and learning lessons have been moved out of the scope of the classroom. Students can watch lectures online, download relevant notes, and discuss/explore their ideas through online forums or discussion groups. This type of blended learning strategies reinforces active student engagement and knowledge application within the classroom.

Progression of education from 1.0 to 4.0:

Education 1.0 > Education 2.0 > Education 3.0 > Education 4.0

mobile device management solutions entgra-Education progression
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In that sense, Education 4.0 is a jump-start from its version 1.0, naturally called for, and vastly aided by the technological advancements of its counterpart, the fourth industrial revolution. Industry 4.0 has thrust us with smart technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI), big data, Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and robotics. 

We must now shift our focus to empowering the next generation of learners, harnessing the culled knowledge with advanced technology for betterment – ideally in accordance with our Sustainable Development Goals for education [SDG 4]

Are we there yet?

Education 4.0 involves the use of tablets, laptops, smartphones, and various other devices as supportive tools for learning. Aimed at instilling the 4Cs the century calls for, our students are now being trained to think critically, make the most of their creativity, and communicate and collaborate effectively with their peers.  With the students having a big say in the how of it today, learning has become a highly personalized experience to be indulged in from anywhere, at any time. 

Such a transformation calls for an equally elaborate and sophisticated response from  educational institutions.  These institutions must be prepared to address challenges that arise with infrastructure, services, and facilities for students and teachers alike.

Visionary institutes like the Avinya Academy already have programs designed for empowering the next generation student that extend beyond the required skill sets – these students are equipped with the knowledge to be proficient in life and career fundamentals the future calls for.

Riding on the waves of the latest trends in tutelage, academies must incorporate and leverage progressive technology to provide the fitting educational foundation for these self-paced learners so that they can become the global digital citizens of tomorrow. 

Device strategies for educational institutions

Cyber-physical learning curricula comprise course work requiring interactive, immersive learning experiences using varied e-learning tools and techniques. Possessing one’s own device is only the starting point here for the exciting escapade that awaits the learner. As such, academic institutions are better positioned to identify the exact student requirements and address the demand justifiably without calling for unwarranted problems. 

Most academic institutions today provide students with centrally administered mobile devices. A strategic plan for effective device management customized to the institute’s guidelines can help manage entire fleets of devices effortlessly.

Entgra’s comprehensive Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions present purpose-built plans for educational institutions. With its centralized device and unified endpoint management capabilities, the solution enables multiple integration options with third-party platforms.

Reliable Identity and Access Management (IAM) features are imperative for an impregnable, secure Learning Management System (LMS). With our MDM suite’s controlled access permissions, Single Sign On (SSO) and authentication policies, IT administrators can securely onboard large numbers of devices and users swiftly. With a strong foothold on securing privacy and sensitive data, Engtra MDM enables remote locking/wipe-off when subject to security breaches. 

These are some of the features we support presently:

mobile device management solutions entgra-virtual classrooms2
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For comprehensive device strategy solutions customized to suit your academy, do reach out to us at https://entgra.io/contact-us/, and we shall be happy to help you gear up. 

Additional reading resources

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Post-Pandemic Business Revival: Where Are We Headed?

3 Comments / Industry insights, IoT, UEM / / / , , ,
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The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to loom over us. With hopes of opening countries and returning to normalcy, we take one step forward, only to fall back two, with tightened masks. It surely will be a while before life as we once knew it can be restored.

Thrust with incertitude at all levels from economic subsistence, vocational hardship, healthcare exigencies, and the unpredictability of life in general, our core existential strategy for the last two years has primarily been inclined towards that of basic survival centered around us as individuals, our close-knit families and communities, and the associated temporal assets. The pandemic epiphany has brought about drastic changes in our lifestyles, calling us to revise our priorities with a new reality check in life. 

For business enterprises, this is bad news and has been so for the past two years. 

The Trending Story In Numbers

As with every historical industrial revolution, the effects of the pandemic will shape the economic trends for the future. Unsurprisingly, there will be an evident increase in remote working. A recent Gartner poll found that 48% of employees will likely work remotely at least part of the time after COVID-19 compared to 30% before the pandemic. Similarly, the McKinsey Global Institute estimates that more than 20% of the global workforce could work the majority of its time away from the office – and equally importantly, be just as effective. A consequent HR trend analysis by them indicates that 32% of organizations are replacing full time employees with contingent workers as a cost-saving measure. Prepped up for this, in a recent Gartner poll, 90% of HR leaders said employees would be allowed to work remotely even once COVID-19 vaccines are widely available.

As indicated by these statistics, we have embraced what worked well from the pandemic and are progressing forward retaining the lessons learned. There’s no going back now. Digitally enabled productivity gains have accelerated the Fourth Industrial Revolution powered by technology and defined by operational models that survived above the pandemic predicaments. 

Remote Working or the ability to Work From Anywhere (WFA) is clearly here to stay. So is the hybrid work model as has been discovered in a recent HR trend analysis by Gartner.

Accordingly, the most favorable operational model driving business transformations in the predictable future is that of the Hybrid Work model where employees interact with each other with a mix of distributed, co-located premises synchronously, and/or asynchronously.

mobile device management solutions entgra-GartnerHybridWork
Future of Hybrid Working – Gartner

Your employees are now empowered with the choice of how best productivity is accomplished – your job is to ensure they are sufficiently equipped to do so. 

Are We Ready? Fitting Device Strategy for Your Ecosystem

Managing a digital ecosystem of disparate devices on different platforms can be quite a challenge. Even more so are the conundrums involved with the smooth operation of digital systems whilst being caught unawares by the virus. It is therefore imperative that we make the most of what we have for continued existence of operations under the prevailing constraints.

In one of our recent undertakings, we set out to empower public field officers by helping them digitize their routine tasks. Whilst managing to effectively map the skill sets to devices and the appropriate technology during the project, we also analyzed and outlined how the government administrators in Sri Lanka can benefit from a centralized strategy to monitor and manage the devices deployed in the field. 

Ideally, a complete device strategy is woven around the business requirements of the enterprise, its device engagement criteria, product building, operational efficiency, scaling potential, and the extent of available technical support. Value creation from a long-term perspective and sustainability of device deployment with integration are vital aspects to be considered for a productive device strategy. 

With our varied Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, Entgra can help you formulate the most fitting strategy for your enterprise. Our recommendations precede a comprehensive analysis of your device specifications, their functionality and configurations, defined ownership and administrative policies, pre-work device check, monitoring and their distribution,  complete with a pilot run on device deployment in the field.  As part of our assistance in managing your ecosystem, we will also help you with App development, identity and access management (IAM) and storage options. 

Resilience and Agility: The Way Forward

Resilience, in enterprise terms, is a measure of your ability to swiftly adapt to disruptions while maintaining continuous business operations and safeguarding your employees, assets, and overall brand equity. Resilient organizations are better able to respond and correct their course quickly with changes. 

Faced with the adversities introduced by the pandemic, enterprises that are actively taking measures to optimally tackle the changes are positioned with a competitive edge to be able to progressively move forward retaining most of their strength in vying to make the most of the situation. 

Building a more responsive organization in terms of infrastructure and operational flow to increase agility and flexibility with room for flexing is therefore of utmost importance. This in turn translates into facilitating seamless workflows and remote working environments against a backdrop of changing and evolving technology usage, both by organizations and individuals. 

Entgra offers you a single platform for device integration with comprehensive endpoint management capabilities where you are able to expose devices as APIs securely with identity federation for managing human and device identities. Enabling custom integrations with broad built-in capabilities, and for developing end-to-end applications, our secure, customizable platform can manage all types of devices and applications. Complete with device and endpoint data analytics for systematic decision making, our IoT platform together with our Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) solutions will enable you to remain resilient, relevant, and flexible to respond to present and future changes.

Get in touch with us to learn more about how we can help you.

References

Post-Pandemic Business Revival: Where Are We Headed? Read More »

Virtual Classrooms: From Chaos to Collaboration

2 Comments / Blog, Education, MDM, Tech, Virtual Classroom / / / ,
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Photo by Chris Montgomery on Unsplash

As the world continues to battle with the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing is our daily reality and how are teachers and students faring in virtual classrooms?

Not so well, apparently, as attested unanimously by Parents Anonymous.

Most schools in Colombo already have a functioning distance learning system in place and well established mechanisms through which schools communicate with parents and students.

During periods such as these when schools are closed unduly and indefinitely, schools usually take measures to send out SMSs alerting all parents regarding any important news, changes in schedules, and guidelines to follow in times of crisis. Individual class teachers have WhatsApp groups created for the class, informing students about study packs, assignments, exam schedules, and such. Then there is the actual online distance learning system through which the teachers conduct interactive virtual lessons routinely.

This system functions fairly well most of the time with students managing by themselves.

So what’s all this fuss about?

A deeper look into the matter reveals several underlying problems, some of which are so banal that they would not have occurred to your IT administrator.

In one instance, for example, half of the students of Class A had completed an assignment that was meant for the whole Grade. The specific assignment for Class A, however, had been posted on the class WhatsApp group only. The students who worked on the wrong assignment somehow did not have access to that update, mostly because the phones were with their parents while they worked on some other device.

Another common issue encountered with running virtual classrooms is the disparity of devices and platforms used by individual students. The use of a variety devices such laptops, tablets, and smartphones are commonplace in today’s era of digital flexibility.

The Challenges

The main technical challenge posed here arises when integrating into existing or implementing new systems with the complexity of various disparate operating systems, hardware, software, and network requirements. The different devices and platforms for communication used by students also have to be taken into consideration as well.

A centrally administered platform, with precise User Profile Management can easily address the issues above.

The varying degrees of computer literacy among students, teachers, and parents using the system have to be taken into consideration as well. This plays an important role in deciding on a solution that works equally well for the not so tech-savvy.

The Benefits

The benefits of smoothly operating virtual classes far surpasses the concerns outlined above. This is going to be the trend in the future, so the focus at hand should be on ironing out the hindrances and adapting to the future and beyond.

Virtual classrooms are aimed at providing a fun, interactive learning experience that encourages students to individually explore, share knowledge, and learn through collaborative experiences.

Similarly, the age of digital pedagogy presents a novel teaching experience to tutors too when the right mix of trending technological techniques are employed.

The figure below summarizes how students, teachers, and parents can benefit from virtual classrooms.

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Figure 1 — Empowered classroom collaboration with Entgra

How Entgra’s Solutions Can Help

Applying the right technology and using optimal solutions that cater to your specific requirements enable you to tap into the convenience and effectiveness of digitalization.

The right kind of implementation would allow students to explore without restricting their freedom of access to knowledge, and with right protection from misuse and abuse on the internet. Moreover, such potential need not be hindered by concerns of security and adverse accessibility to a plethora of unwarranted information for the students.

Entgra’s Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions for empowering classroom collaboration offers just that, tailored to the specific requirements of an educational institute.

Given below is what we are capable of in a snapshot:

mobile device management solutions entgra-virtual classrooms2 1
Figure 2 — MDM solutions by Entgra for education

With over hundreds of companies around the globe already empowered by our enterprise-grade solutions, your virtual classroom problems are safely dealt with by our team. Built on extensible plug-in architecture and enhanced by world-class engineering expertise, the Entgra IoT Server is capable of empowering the best MDM services available today. Get in touch with us via contact@entgra.io and learn more about us here.

Virtual Classrooms: From Chaos to Collaboration Read More »

Unified Endpoint Management of APIs for Enterprise Devices

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Photo by Blake Connally on Unsplash

Enterprise Devices — Leading the Way

In a world driven by smart technology¹ that seeks to reap the maximum benefits from recent advancements as soon as possible, one can do little to not be left behind. This is twice as much important if you’re a thriving global enterprise or aspiring to be one. Keeping abreast requires all of your ingenuity.

Enterprises today are increasingly adopting various types of disparate devices into their everyday business operations. Some of these are standard legacy mobile devices like tablets, smartphones, and laptops. Then there are Internet of Things (IoT) devices such as sensors, PLCs², communication gateways, edge computing devices, CCTV cameras, etc. that are also heavily used to monitor and control all aspects of business and supply chains.

Technical challenges arise after these devices are employed. Enterprises need to change business processes to communicate with them seamlessly while adhering to enterprise application development paradigms. This is when a unified set of API endpoints (UEMs) that represent the complete enterprise device deployment becomes a game changer.

Recent Trends in Enterprise Device Adoption

Let’s start with a broader perspective on device dependency. Statistics reveal that the number of mobile phone users far outnumber those with access to electricity, or even running water.

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Source: https://newsroom.cisco.com/press-release-content?articleId=1741352

This means that a startling 69% of the world’s population has access to mobile phones.

Other recent surveys on enterprise device adoption reveal a steady increase in the use of active connections worldwide, with IoT device usage increasing faster compared to traditional device usage.

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Source: https://www.comparitech.com/internet-providers/iot-statistics/

Enterprise Devices That Give Us a Sixth Sense

Enterprises are adopting connected devices for a real-time understanding of ground level conditions, adding an element of sixth sense in business processes across supply, production, and consumption chains. Various types of devices, sensors, PLCs, communication gateways, edge computing devices, etc. are employed to ensure process efficiency. Moreover, this boom in device usage has been accompanied by a significant reduction in the cost of deploying devices in recent times.

In keeping with the latest trends, data communication and infrastructure have also drastically improved with plenty of software platforms enabling connections between different devices for application development or business process enhancements.

Explosion in Device Adoption

All these developments have led to an explosion of disparate device end points coming into the picture, bringing about a new set of challenges for enterprises. As a result, we now have a number of device endpoints within an enterprise that require monitoring, managing, and specified permissions for access within the framework, calling for effective device onboarding and managing strategies.

Challenges in Enterprise Device Management

However, this also means that enterprises are now dependent on these device endpoints to execute some form of business functionality, or to receive feedback on business processes.

This brings us to the fundamental problem of tackling the challenges posed by enterprise device management. Typically, one of the following illustrated deployment architecture patterns handle device deployment:

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Unified Endpoint Management of APIs for Enterprise Devices 33

Some important points considered by these deployments include:

  • Heterogeneous deployment architectures
  • Expansion of corporate (traditional) network boundaries
  • Network connectivity
  • Device functional accuracy determination
  • Rogue device detection
  • Identity and access management (device identity/ human operator identity)
  • Establishment of authorized access for device data/control
  • Firmware distribution and different device OS platforms
  • Asset tracking at manufacturing, QC, distribution, and installation phases
  • Heterogenous development architecture
  • Typical “difficult” devices placements such as remote locations, manholes, tunnels, etc.
  • Complicated wiring architecture
  • Communication modules

Integration Challenges in the Lifecycle of an Enterprise Device

Identifying and addressing integration problems during the various phases of a device’s lifecycle requires considerable effort as indicated by the diagram below:

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Unified Endpoint Management of APIs for Enterprise Devices 34

Consequently, each stage in the lifestyle has its own set of integration requirements as outlined below:

Device Manufacturing Phase

  • Serial ID/ MAC address registration
  • Provisioning token/ certificate generation
  • Firmware burning to ROM

Quality Control / Checks

  • Temporary activation of provisioning token
  • Test operations/ controls
  • Wipe-offs/ factory reset

Ready for Sale / Warehouse

Sold to Customer

Delivered to Installation Site

Installation and Verification

  • Issuing temporary tickets for testing
  • Customer/ site assignment
  • Device activation (token/ digital twin)
  • Warranty activation

In-Production 

  • Device communication with IoT platform
  • IoT platform communication with device
  • Application <-> device interfaces
  • Token authorizations
  • Firmware management

Faulty / Maintenance/ Rogue

  • Device event processing and modeling
  • Deactivation requests
  • Service records/ maintenance mode switch

Device Discarded

Entgra’s Device Integration Platform

The Entgra IoT platform acts as a single platform where you can connect devices from different vendors, enabling you to build applications on top of these devices in a unified way. Given below is a high level view of our IoT platform architecture:

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Unified Endpoint Management of APIs for Enterprise Devices 35

Our device integration platform has the added advantage of sharing the same common architecture, and therefore the same code base, as that of WSO2 technology.

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Device integration with Entgra

On top of this IoT platform, we have also have built a Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution that specifically targets managing traditional mobile devices such as kiosks and laptops, available as an off-the-shelf product.

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Entgra Mobile Device Manager

The Entgra IoT Platform, therefore, offers a standardized set of APIs for simpler enterprise device onboarding, working equally well for standard mobile devices traditionally managed through MDMs as well as for IoT devices.

Your Enterprise Device Journey

This blog provides an overview of how you can manage different types of devices as standard API endpoints within your enterprise architecture to seamlessly onboard different types of devices into your business. Get in touch with us via contact@entgra.io to learn more about our IoT and MDM technologies.

References

Unified Endpoint Management of APIs for Enterprise Devices Read More »

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