A holistic approach to security: inventory management

Think inventory management only means tracking devices? Think again.

November 16 2022 by

Haddayr Copley-Woods

Person uses an iPad and Jamf to manage global inventory

What is inventory management?

Inventory management is not simply tracking your organization's devices. It's more than that. Inventory management is responsible for ensuring that the right people have the right devices and the right tools to do their jobs effectively.

And it's ensuring that these people, these devices, and your organization's data are always within reach and within your control.

How does inventory management affect security?

Especially with increasing reliance on mobile devices in the workforce and more remote work options, the security landscape has become far more complex than it used to be. Even with the best security system that money can buy, if you lose track of your inventory you lose control of your security.

If you don't know where all of your devices are, who is using all of them, and what security protocols you have in place for each device and user, you have no way of knowing if there is a rogue device with permissions on your network that is otherwise out of compliance or in the wrong hands.

Want to ensure security? You have to know where everything is, what state it's in, and who is using it. Every single device.

What are the risks of lax inventory management?

Let's say that an employee reports that their device has been stolen. If you don't have zero-touch deployment in place with an accurate and detailed record of which device has gone missing, you can't lock that device to prevent bad actors from using it to hurt your company.

How about insecure wireless networks? It's vital for IT to know that every device in the fleet has the correct LPN, zero-trust or other secure network connections in place on each device, no matter where it is located.

What if the wrong person is trying to use a device they have found or stolen before employees can notify you? You need to know exactly which user IDs are accessing the network and from what entry points. Otherwise? You've left a giant hole in your security posture for anyone to walk right on through.

How can Jamf help with your organization's inventory management?

Running a tight ship means a careful setup of device tracking systems and a sharp eye on your fleet. But unless you're a small business with perhaps four employees, there is really only one way to organize all of your inventory: with automation.

Jamf admins can create Smart Groups that track user and hardware details, software versions and security settings for specific groups of devices. Not only that, our automation of device state reports ensures that IT knows of any device that is out of compliance immediately— and they can take appropriate actions.

Jamf's inventory management features include a 360° view of your fleet, the state of each device and even the state of each application. You can see the following at a glance:

  • Hardware type/model/names, serial numbers, and even battery levels and storage capacity
  • Device OS and app versions, encryption status and system configurations, profiles, and certificates
  • Activation Lock status

Want a secure network and devices? You have to start with all the information at hand. Why not get the most information you can, presented in the simplest fashion possible, with Jamf?

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This post is one of a series on a holistic approach to security. See a roundup of all of the posts, or read one below:

Discover Jamf inventory management.

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