Managing a mobile computing environment was already complex enough at the beginning of this year. Then the coronavirus pandemic hit, driving many employees (and their mobile devices) out of the office and into their homes, limiting the visibility and control of IT teams.

Most enterprises were already getting on board with unified endpoint management tools, recognizing the need for a common platform to help them manage their fleets of smartphones, tablets and notebook computers, along with associated mobile apps and content. But for organizations that were dragging their feet with UEM, 2020 has served as a wake-up call about the importance of these tools.

For organizations still looking for the right fit, here are four ways that UEM solutions can help navigate these challenging times.

With Azure, organizations have many choices to make, from which services to use to how to purchase, manage and govern its use. In October 2019, Microsoft announced changes to the volume licensing programs in ways that affected a customer’s ability to acquire Azure. Specifically, Microsoft:

1. Will no longer write new Azure-only Server and Cloud Enrollment (SCE) agreements
2. Will no longer renew Azure-only SCE agreements and subject any extended contracts to a 3 percent administrative fee
3. Will no longer allow Azure to be added to existing Enterprise Agreement (EA) contracts

The most exciting part of my job occurs when I have the opportunity to visit with a new client organization and help its leaders assess their security infrastructure and remediate any vulnerabilities. I enjoy being able to examine the current state of their cybersecurity programs and help them redesign elements to better address the modern threat environment.

Recently, I had the opportunity to engage in this type of work with one of CDW’s customers — the government of a midsized county. As we worked through the assessment, we identified two core issues that required immediate attention. First, the county’s network firewall platform was quite outdated, running technology that was over a decade old. The devices still functioned, but they were designed to protect against the threats of 10 years ago, not today’s advanced persistent threats. Our first core recommendation was that the county replace this aging firewall infrastructure with a modern next-generation firewall (NGFW) designed to stymie today’s attackers.

We also realized that the core of the county’s network lacked essential security controls. If someone gained physical access to the building and connected any device to the network, the attacker would have open access to all types of resources. There was no internal access control restricting the devices that could connect to the network and limiting the authorization of those devices based on the identity of the user. The county urgently needed a network access control (NAC) solution to address these risks and protect its network.

Regardless of the vendor, when we discuss call routing in a telephony platform we’re almost always focused on the destination of the call. Similar to how the postal service operates, when the system is delivering the call or message, we are rarely focused on who the originator is. Keeping that in mind, it doesn’t take much imagination to come up with a few scenarios where it may be beneficial to block specific numbers, or ranges of numbers from reaching your end users.

In this blog post, I’ll show you how to implement a check on the calling party number (CPN) in a Cisco voice solution and keep those pesky spam calls at bay.

In order to illustrate the logic, let’s define some key components and run through a few examples.

It is an understatement to say that 2020 has been a year filled with unknowns. So, it’s not surprising that many organizations are holding off on planned IT upgrades, waiting to see what the future holds before they expend significant capital on a data center refresh.

Companies do, however, need ongoing support for their data center infrastructure. For those that had previously planned to replace equipment when the original warranty expired, some form of extended support will be necessary.

Business and IT leaders can choose between extended support contracts from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) or third-party maintenance (TPM) providers — each of which has its own unique benefits.

As many of us hit the six-month mark of remote work due to COVID-19, we’ve grown accustomed to days filled with virtual meetings instead of face-to-face gatherings. Cisco has been there for this transition, helping fill the void of empty conference rooms with Webex to facilitate an easy solution for video and online meetings.

From a user perspective, this transition to a reliance on virtual meetings has not been without challenges. Have you ever been unsure if you were muted, or scrambled to locate and mute that chatty person on your participant list? Do you find yourself wishing some of those Event and Training Center features were available in Meeting Center? Do you ever feel overwhelmed because you are the only one in a meeting with host privileges to manage the call? If you are like me and answered yes to all these questions, you will be excited to hear about the new features that are included in Cisco Webex 40.9.