How Nonprofits Can Build a More Sustainable Endpoint Management Strategy

Savings and Management Efficiencies Gained From the Cloud

Shifting to cloud-based tools such as Microsoft 365 to empower employee workflows and collaboration also helps Goodwill Industries of the Valleys in Roanoke, Va., deliver on the nonprofit's work-from-anywhere model, says Hunter French, senior vice president of impact services and the organization’s former vice president of IT.

“Physically, we’re not tied to a geographic location, but through our work, we come together to serve our community,” French says.

When the organization adopted the Microsoft suite a few years ago, French and his team gained several efficiencies on the endpoint management and security front. This was important because most staff members work from home or in the field, where they support program participants.

The organization relies on Windows Autopilot to quickly configure and update devices according to their specifications, without requiring hands-on time from French and his team. Microsoft Intune also allows the team to manage all devices, deploy patches and enforce conditional access through a single panel. Multifactor authentication and access management delivered through Entra ID “gives workers streamlined authentication with the most security and least hassle possible,” French says. “I always know workers are playing by our security rules.”

French has also automated certain security responses by writing rules with the organization’s Microsoft 365 E5 license and Entra ID. He can quickly lock down a user’s account if a bad actor is attempting to log in with faulty passwords, for example.

“I automate security responses to the most common attacks,” he says.

FIND OUT: Learn how nonprofits can successfully navigate a cloud migration.

Why Nonprofits Should Look to the Cloud To Manage Endpoints

Cloud-based solutions can also help to “remove a lot of upfront, sunk costs on what you think your computing needs will be from an end-user standpoint, to ensure longer-term sustainability,” says Phil Hochmuth, research vice president for endpoint management and enterprise mobility at IDC. “In a lot of ways, nonprofits probably could do well by mirroring what we see in education.”

Microsoft Intune is attractive to many organizations when it’s included with their existing Microsoft 365 licensing. Other Software as a Service-based architectures, such as Google Chrome tools commonly used in education environments, allow nonprofits to similarly manage devices and available content or resources, from any location.

Modern, cloud-based endpoint management replaces traditional client-server models that rely on on-premises agents. That flexibility pays dividends when managing endpoints for nonprofits’ seasonal or temporary staff, while also providing predictable per-device, per-month pricing that helps control costs.

“The more that you can narrow, reduce and eliminate the need to patch and manage and lock down endpoints, the better,” Hochmuth says, “and that should be a goal for every small, probably underfunded IT organization typically found in nonprofits.”

Managing Endpoints While Balancing Efficiency and Security

Artificial intelligence-enhanced capabilities now available within many of the endpoint management solutions on the market open opportunities to automate even more management tasks.

Here are some other best practices nonprofits can adopt to streamline endpoint management and improve the overall sustainability of their hybrid workforce technology.

Repurpose Older Devices

Google provides methods for repurposing older hardware into Chrome-based devices, which can be an attractive option for budget-conscious nonprofits while also making devices easier to manage, Hochmuth says.

Maintain Essential Security

Nonprofits can improve device security and simplify management by narrowing the activities allowed on specific devices, potentially creating a kiosk-like experience for volunteers, for example, or maintaining work-specific applications. Restricting what users can do on a device reduces an organization’s attack surface, minimizes user error, and prevents unauthorized access to sensitive financial client or contributor information.

Unify Endpoint Management and Mobile Integration

Thinking beyond PCs, unified endpoint management or mobile device management solutions also help resource-strapped IT teams extend secure, controlled access to tablets and phones, which may provide a more effective or preferred remote work experience for volunteers and staff.

Anything a nonprofit organization can do to move away from significant upfront hardware investments helps nonprofits improve responsiveness to their actual mission and user needs, Hochmuth adds. Flexible management frameworks support seasonal requirements, as does renting devices from a managed service provider, which confines devices to specific events or busy, volunteer-heavy times of year. This option also allows an organization to maintain its data in the cloud rather than on local hardware, also minimizing security risks.

“Then, you don’t have to worry about a donor’s credit card information sitting on a PC somewhere," he says. "It’s all in the cloud, backed up and secure, and that goes a long way to keeping a nonprofit sustainable and secure."