What Is Remote Device Management (RDM)?
The increasing adoption of remote and hybrid work models has led to challenges for information technology (IT) professionals. Tech support, maintenance, upgrades, and patches must be deployed remotely so that all fleet devices perform as expected and the network is better protected from unauthorized users and cyber threats.
Employees expect a consistent technology experience whether they work on-premises, at home, or on the road. IT can fulfill those user needs with high-performing, highly manageable client PCs that provide integrated, business-class remote monitoring and management (RMM) capabilities.
Hardware-enabled RDM solutions support efficient remote administration of patches, updates, and other routine maintenance tasks, helping save time and reduce human error. IT can also support users’ peripherals remotely to provide more flexibility. This means home offices can be equipped with docking stations, multiple monitors, printers, and other peripherals to enhance the user experience without introducing new manageability challenges for the IT team.
Software vs. Hardware Support for RDM
A software-only RDM solution is increasingly inadequate to confront emerging IT challenges. Software-based tools cannot address a device that is powered off or has a compromised operating system (OS). Hardware-based tools are preferred for enterprise RDM because they enable IT teams to administer processes at both the software and hardware levels.
This means devices can be monitored, maintained, and managed even if they are turned off or the software and OS malfunction. Hardware-based RDM also gives IT teams insights based on the device’s telemetry data, which can be passed onto software security solutions to make them more effective.
Benefits of Remote Device Management
RDM is a business computing essential that empowers IT departments to do their jobs effectively and efficiently while keeping PC fleets up and running. With RDM, businesses of all sizes benefit from:
- Reduced downtime and increased productivity: IT teams are better equipped to keep employee PCs and laptops healthy, resulting in fewer interruptions and shorter periods of downtime when an issue arises.
- Streamlined IT operations: In addition to remote device remediation, IT also gets the tools they need to configure, patch, reimage, or wipe devices remotely. Businesses can scale their IT operations efficiently across more users and devices, with interfaces that provide fleet-wide visibility into device health.
- Improved security posture: Keeping larger device fleets up to date with the latest firmware and software patches helps enterprises stay ahead of emerging threats. Remote monitoring tools also help identify anomalous behaviors at the device level to thwart ransomware and cryptojacking attempts.
- Fast response to outages and cybersecurity incidents: When an outage occurs, IT teams can use RDM to respond quickly by resetting and restoring compromised devices. A fast response can also help limit the impact of a data breach by preventing further unauthorized access to the corporate network by cyber adversaries.
Challenges Addressed by Remote Device Management
As businesses grow, they need bigger teams with more devices. This results in a more-complex digital landscape that’s harder to manage and secure. RDM helps businesses keep up with the pace of growth in addition to addressing other emergent challenges.
Phishing and Social Engineering
Cyber threats are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and often, the weakest link in cybersecurity is the end user. Adversaries use phishing—the practice of sending fraudulent emails or other messages—and social engineering, which involves manipulation tactics designed to earn an end user’s trust, to get workers to divulge sensitive information or expose their systems to unauthorized access.
RDM allows IT teams to enforce security policies across the PC fleet, helping to reduce the risk of unauthorized downloads from phishing attacks. Hardware-enabled RDM solutions can also help detect anomalous behaviors that result from suspicious activity on a device, helping minimize the impact if an adversary gains access to the corporate network through a social engineering scheme. Once these attacks are discovered, RDM enables IT to lock down compromised devices and help prevent further harm quickly.
Diversity of Devices
RDM requirements increasingly include mobile device management. In most organizations, each employee uses at least one mobile endpoint device, such as a smartphone or tablet. IT teams are responsible for managing those device groups and their network access. RDM also helps businesses enforce zero trust security frameworks that are designed to verify and onboard trusted devices into the corporate network seamlessly.
This is especially important as businesses integrate more IoT and edge devices into their digital landscape, such as kiosks, digital signage, or digital safety systems. Not every new device will be associated with a human operator. RDM gives IT teams a simple and easy way to remotely connect to devices that are typically deployed in hard-to-reach locations or behind locked doors, across multiple branch offices and geographies.
Remote Device Management Use Cases
Remote management helps keep devices secure and functioning optimally. A feature-rich device platform can provide your IT team with robust tools for several key use cases.
Keyboard, Video, Mouse (KVM) over IP
KVM over IP allows IT teams to remotely access devices over an internet connection with the ability to use the device’s keyboard and mouse and see the device’s screen. This capability enables most RDM interventions when remotely setting up or restoring a device.
Remote Power Up
Remote power up or remote power cycling allows IT teams to remotely activate a device even if it’s turned off. Without this hardware-enabled capability in their RDM solutions, IT teams must wait for the device to be powered on by the end user before they can apply patches or troubleshoot issues.
Firmware, Software, and OS Updates
RDM enables IT teams to keep the entire business PC fleet up to date with the latest patches and updates. RDM tools help automate this process with remote patch management during off-hours, which helps reduce end user downtime and forgoes the need to apply patches manually.
Out-of-Band Management (OOBM)
In-band management refers to managing devices on the corporate network, whereas OOBM refers to managing devices over any separate communication channel. If the primary corporate network is down or devices are connected through end users’ home Wi-Fi networks, IT can use OOBM with RDM to access and remediate devices.
Device Troubleshooting
When technical issues or cybersecurity incidents result in downtime, RDM helps IT teams get devices back up and running fast. Using a combination of KVM over IP, remote power cycling, and OOBM, IT teams can remotely activate and interface with devices as if they were there in person. This is usually much more efficient than relaying instructions to end users who may lack the technical expertise to resolve complex issues with their PCs.
PC Refresh
Today’s businesses tend to refresh devices regularly to enhance performance. Modern devices also include features that help improve endpoint security and device manageability. Selecting devices with integrated, hardware-enabled RDM can empower your IT team to take advantage of the many capabilities explored here.
Future of Remote Device Management
The future of RDM is characterized by growing AI adoption, improved security technologies, and increased, more coordinated management of diverse devices. Businesses that overlook RDM solutions will be overly reliant on manual, in-person processes to resolve daily issues or major outages, with a potentially huge impact in the form of lost revenue and reputation.
As workers use generative AI (GenAI) tools to increase their productivity, RDM can help ensure they do so in a safe way that helps protect the enterprise perimeter. RDM can help IT departments enforce company policies regarding exposing sensitive data to GenAI tools, while AI on the device can help alert IT to suspicious behavior.
Activating RDM solutions will be a baseline requirement for businesses of any size to help ensure future success in AI, at the client computing edge, and beyond.