GigaOm Key Criteria for Evaluating Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) Solutions

1. Executive Summary

The contemporary IT landscape is characterized by a highly distributed workforce using a diverse array of devices and operating systems (OSs) to access broad portfolios of enterprise applications and data. In this environment, IT teams face an increasingly complex task of managing, configuring, and securing all types of endpoints, including mobile devices, desktops, laptops, and IoT devices.

Providing employees access to the data and services they require to do their jobs effectively—whether inside or outside a physical office—comes with significant risk. It demands granting access to one of the most important assets a business has: its data.

The goal is to find the right balance between user experience (UX) and enterprise control. Without that balance, organizations are likely to introduce numerous risks to business efficiency, competitiveness, and security.

For example, if an organization severely limits or locks down device usage, this will hinder employee flexibility and productivity. Unified endpoint management (UEM) solutions help organizations instead unlock endpoint experiences for users while providing sustainable control and security.

Business Imperative
The importance of effective endpoint management in modern organizations cannot be overstated. To achieve this, organizations must solve two issues:

• How to provide employees sustained access to applications and data.
• How to do so in a way that maintains security and control of business-critical data assets.

UEM solutions bring user and device management together into a single pane of glass view and allow organizations to perform the following:

• Manage devices through a centralized console
• Manage device lifecycle from enrollment to deactivation
• Ensure device sustainability
• Create and enforce security policies
• Patch and update devices and applications
• Enhance IT and end UX
• Ensure devices are included as part of an overall security strategy

Effective UEM solutions help deliver an overall better UX, improve operational efficiency, and maintain strong endpoint security.

Sector Adoption Score
To help executives and decision-makers assess the potential impact and value of a UEM solution deployment, this GigaOm Key Criteria report provides a structured assessment of the UEM sector across five factors: benefit, maturity, urgency, impact, and effort. By scoring each factor based on how strongly it compels or deters adoption of UEM, we provide an overall Sector Adoption Score (Figure 1) for UEM of 4 out of 5, with 5 indicating the strongest possible recommendation to adopt. This indicates that the UEM category is a credible candidate for deployment and worth thoughtful consideration.

The factors contributing to the Sector Adoption Score for UEM are explained in more detail in the Sector Brief section that follows.

Figure 1. Sector Adoption Score for UEM

This is the third year that GigaOm has reported on the UEM space in the context of our Key Criteria and Radar reports. This report builds on our previous analysis and considers how the market has evolved over the last year.

This GigaOm Key Criteria report highlights the capabilities (table stakes, key features, and emerging features) and non-functional requirements (business criteria) for selecting an effective UEM solution. The companion GigaOm Radar report identifies vendors and products that excel in those capabilities and business criteria. Together, these reports provide an overview of the category and its underlying technology, identify leading UEM offerings, and help decision-makers evaluate these solutions so they can make a more informed investment decision.