How to manage endpoint sprawl in the era of smart campuses  

Andre Schindler, GM EMEA and SVP Global Sales at NinjaOne  

Universities were hit hard by the pandemic, with educational leaders all over the UK suddenly required to rethink models for learning. Traditionally heavily reliant on in-person attendance, the closure of lecture halls and seminar rooms caused undeniable disruption for students. 

Years later, many educational institutions have reshaped their frameworks for learning. Positively, the introduction of the ‘hybrid classroom’ (or lecture hall) has made it easier and more accessible than ever before for students to learn anytime, anywhere. The University of Birmingham is just one major university in the UK that has already set out plans to implement a smart, connected campus. Whilst these technological advancements are creating more personalised and accessible learning experiences for students, they also present a host of new challenges for IT teams.  

IT teams at universities, many of whom already operate under tight budgets, are now faced with monitoring and securing more devices (or endpoints) than ever before. Ensuring networks remain secure in the face of increased complexity is no mean feat – especially as many universities scale back their staff amidst ongoing economic turbulence. 

Fortunately, technologies like automated endpoint management are making it easier than ever before for IT leaders to effectively manage devices across campuses at scale. These tools are not only contributing to more seamless learning experiences for students, but they are also playing a fundamental role in enhancing the digital security of educational institutions. 

‘Bring Your Own Device’ culture and campus security  

In recent years, the number of endpoints in higher education has soared, fuelled by the rise of remote learning, the Internet of Things (IoT), Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies, and widespread cloud adoption. IT ecosystems are expanding rapidly, and these technologies are now viewed by both students and faculty as essential in creating more interactive and flexible learning environments.  

This boom in digital technology holds the key to campus-wide innovation. Universities are incorporating more IoT devices and automation into their IT infrastructure and building management, optimising energy use, enhancing efficiency, and reducing costs. Remote learning and flexible working options broaden opportunities, allowing universities to attract students from further locations and enabling staff to have more flexible work arrangements. 

Moreover, the move to hybrid and multi-cloud environments offers IT teams a secure and cost-effective way to store student data, documents, and recorded lectures while scaling to meet fluctuating demands for network access and IT services. 

With all these advancements, IT leaders are tasked with managing and securing this increasingly complex landscape, ensuring that higher education’s tech-driven future continues to thrive. 

IT teams: spinning more plates than ever before 

IT teams at universities already face heavy burdens, with one technician often solely responsible for thousands of endpoints. Even seasoned IT professionals feel overburdened by such a task and lack the time and resources needed to effectively secure and monitor a complex and sprawling range of devices. The implementation of Software-as-a-Service applications, and hybrid or multi-cloud environments, further complicate this picture. It’s clear that today’s campuses have gone far beyond manual IT management and monitoring, and technicians need to consider new approaches if they are to get a handle on new levels of complexity and scale. IT admins themselves can’t see everything, everywhere, all at once, so they need extra support to monitor across multiple campuses, cities, and in some cases, even countries. 

The diversity of server and networking devices – each with different operating systems, hardware, and software – further complicates endpoint management. Thankfully, automated endpoint management is a cost-effective way to simplify this challenge. IT teams can utilise an automated endpoint management tool like a ‘sidekick’, automating time-consuming tasks such as patching and backups. IT teams no longer need to burn the midnight oil and spend late nights in the office to manually deploy system updates. Now, critical updates can be deployed and managed automatically across every device in a single pane of glass.  

Increasing visibility and security across every device, everywhere  

We’ve seen how automated endpoint management can augment tedious manual tasks, such as system updates and patching. Another key benefit of automated endpoint management is that it provides IT teams with a much more holistic overview of their devices. This means IT teams can monitor and control every endpoint in every location in real-time. This is a game-changer for technicians, who no longer need to be stationed on every campus or move between buildings to support faculty and students.  

Going one step further, automated endpoint management also bolsters security practices – a crucial component for universities given that 97% of higher education institutions identified a breach or attack in the past year, and with research also showing that more than three-quarters (77%) of organisation have experienced a cyberattack that started via exploit of an unknown, unmanaged, or poorly managed endpoint.¹  

By automating and optimising endpoint management, IT teams can rest easy knowing they have backups safeguarding an educational institution’s precious data. Backup protection safeguards critical student data from accidental loss and cyber threats, so learning can resume as quickly as possible should a breach occur. Meanwhile, automated patch management ensures up-to-date systems and minimises known vulnerabilities, resulting in continued functionality, productivity, and security.  

These additional layers of protection are essential as educational institutions are often prime targets for attack, considering the volume of valuable personal and financial data they hold, not to mention their cutting-edge research and IP. 

Seamless integration 

Understandably, cost is also a key concern for educational institutions. A recent report from the Office for Students (OfS) revealed that more than a third of universities are likely to encounter financial hardship in 2025, despite increased tuition fees. It’s therefore important to choose an endpoint management solution that can integrate with existing third-party applications, avoiding a whole-system overhaul.  

Universities will undoubtedly continue to offer more innovative, engaging and creative learning experiences in years to come. With this, endpoints will continue to expand exponentially, in their number and complexity. It’s a daunting challenge for IT teams, but by leveraging automated endpoint management, IT teams can focus on what matters the most: improving educational activities and technology integration across campus. Automated endpoint management will be key to support the ‘digital lecture hall’ now and into the future, ensuring secure and user-friendly experiences for teachers and students alike.