Technology advisory firm Forrester recently released their latest Forrester Wave for Unified Endpoint Management, Q4 2019. Researchers Andrew Hewitt, Stephanie Balaouras, Renee Taylor, and Diane Lynch created the report based on 23 different criteria for UEM solutions and highlighted the top 13 UEM vendors: 42Gears, Baramundi Software, BlackBerry, Citrix, IBM, Ivanti, ManageEngine, Matrix42, Microsoft, MobileIron, Snow Software, Sophos, and VMware.
The report describes Forrester’s findings; specifically, it examines how each provider meets its researchers’ evaluation criteria. Thus, with this information, Forrester’s researchers place each vendor on their Wave; the graph, in turn, positions each vendor as a Leader, Strong Performer, Contender, or Challenger in relation to one another.
We at Solutions Review read the Forrester Unified Endpoint Management Wave report — available here — and pulled out the key takeaways!
Top UEM vendors balance employee experience, management, and security
As unified endpoint management solutions become a standard technology in enterprise infrastructures, companies need to know the key capabilities to look for when evaluating UEM solutions. Forrester highlighted three major features that are vital for a UEM tool: digital employee experience (EX), modern management, and native advance security capabilities. According to Forrester, UEM solutions need to provide a unified workspace so employees can work productively; while Forrester states that robust end user experience analytics tools aren’t yet available in most tools, some vendors have announced these capabilities for the future.
Forrester noted that multiple UEM vendors acquired third-party security solutions to improve their threat prevention, detection, and response proficiency. This is the latest trend in the shift from dedicated endpoint management and security tools as UEM takes the main stage. As UEM solutions continue to evolve, we expect to see vendors implement more granular security and management features beyond just providing device and application management.
VMware continues innovation in EX and modern management
In this report, Forrester placed VMware as the top leader in both their current UEM offering and strategy. VMware has the largest market presence according to Forrester’s research, but they continue to grow as they invest in Windows 10 management capabilities and support for multiple operating systems and form factors, including a comprehensive single sign-on (SSO) solution. Forrester predicts that VMware’s recent acquisition of Carbon Black and upcoming risk-based conditional access will help them create a more solid Zero Trust architecture — a skill that Forrester notes VMware has been lacking in when it comes to features.
Stronger UEM vendors value security features
Unified endpoint management solutions are the next evolution of enterprise mobility management (EMM) solutions, and as such, they require the right set of security features to protect corporate devices and endpoints. That’s why many of the vendors that Forrester placed in the Leaders and Strong Performers section of this Wave place an emphasis on security. IBM MaaS360 offers proactive insights on endpoint security through their IAM and threat prevention capabiltiies; MobileIron highlights a mobile device-centric Zero Trust solution; and BlackBerry provides a risk-based analysis approach.
As businesses deploy more smartphones and Internet of Things (IoT) devices, UEM vendors must be able to secure a wide variety of device types and operating systems. Security capabilities should not be overlooked when evaluating UEM solutions, and UEM vendors should not neglect security as a core offering.
Looking for more info on the benefits of unified endpoint management? You should check out our free Buyer’s Guide. We profile the top vendors in the mobile device management field, their key capabilities, and our Bottom Line for each.
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Daniel Hein
Dan is a tech writer who writes about Enterprise Cloud Strategy and Network Monitoring for Solutions Review. He graduated from Fitchburg State University with a Bachelor’s in Professional Writing. You can reach him at dhein@solutionsreview.com
