Even before the coronavirus pandemic, mobile devices and cloud computing were changing the landscape of IT. In the “new normal,” with widespread remote work and distributed IT environments, CISOs and other technology leaders are more interested than ever in next-generation endpoint protection solutions. IT leaders who haven’t already deployed NGEP technology are hearing about it from their peers and are eager to put solutions in place. Those who have already made investments in NGEP platforms want to make sure that they’re getting the most value out of their investments.

These are reasonable concerns, because the threats facing endpoints continue to grow. Many organizations first deploy NGEP solutions only after experiencing a serious security incident that originates on an endpoint, while others want to do everything they can to avoid that fate. CDW recently published a white paper that delves deeply into this technology. Let’s take a look at the main themes from that white paper: three reasons that organizations are considering the use of this technology.

Recent events turned our working lives upside down. With very little notice, millions of people around the world were sent home from their offices to suddenly adopt a remote work lifestyle. Four months into this adventure, most knowledge workers have adapted to working styles that replace conference rooms with video meetings and coffee chats with virtual happy hours.

I believe that we’ve arrived at a new normal where remote work will become a standard arrangement for knowledge workers. Both companies and employees will benefit from this approach. While employees can better balance their lives, companies will be able to reduce overhead expenses by consolidating and eliminating expensive physical offices. This work style comes with new cybersecurity considerations, and I urge organizations to adopt six key practices to adapt to our new working patterns.

Endpoints are on the front lines of every cybersecurity program. Laptops, smartphones, tablets and other end-user devices travel around the world, connecting to a variety of networks with varying degrees of security control. These devices require strong protections to ensure that they don’t become compromised and serve as the launching point for a broader attack on an organization. Next-generation endpoint protection platforms provide the 24/7 control required to keep an organization’s diverse set of devices safe and secure.

Last year, I consulted with a pastor whose church had suffered a ransomware attack. This particular church had an extensive fundraising operation designed to support a local homeless program, and the ransomware infection impacted all of the data used to solicit donations — and ground those important efforts to a halt.

Like many nonprofits, the church fallen into a common trap: the fallacy of thinking that they don’t have any important data that would attract attackers. But, in this world, every organization is a potentially lucrative target.

Earlier this year, I arrived at the office on a Monday morning to a ringing telephone. One of my longtime customers was on the line, frantic about a security issue. When he arrived at work that morning, he discovered that the Microsoft Exchange server at his midsized company was offline and infected with ransomware. Further…

Artificial intelligence is the hottest technology trend of this decade, and it’s appearing in a wide variety of applications. From approving mortgage applications to identifying potential customers, AI allows organizations to improve their effectiveness, increase their productivity and control costs. It’s no surprise that AI tools and techniques have also found their way into the…