Every sensible business owner is always looking for the best cybersecurity solution they can get for their available budget. Moving from standard fare antivirus across to an Endpoint security solution is a logical move for anyone after a beefier cybersecurity setup, as well as providing a much more potent, but highly manageable administration system. Granted, it’ll cost more than the average antivirus protection package, but should prove to be much more useful and cost-effective in the long run.
In its defence, antivirus software has been around for nearly as long as computers, in one form or another. Today’s security packages are very good, and certainly meet the needs of many businesses. They’re great for protecting devices including office PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones too. Viruses, malware and all manner of other potential security threats are kept at bay and the added benefit of antivirus software is that it’s pretty easy to setup and configure.
What’s more, once you’ve installed it, antivirus software simply gets on with the job, blocking the likes of phishing attempts or fending off malicious URLs at designated times, without fuss. Pick a credible antivirus package and it will stay updated dynamically too, meaning that any new or evolving threats are dealt with in the same way. This signature-based detection and prevention system is therefore good, but antivirus is aimed at focusing on one endpoint. It's a bit limiting.
The benefit of Endpoint
Conversely, whereas antivirus software uses signature-based detection and prevention methods to get the job done, Endpoint protection is rather more versatile. Not only can Endpoint security detect and dispatch viruses and malware, but it is also very good at persistent threat detection and data leak prevention. It is more inquisitive too and better able to handle advance persistent threats, which makes it a lot more substantial than the average antivirus package.
Another benefit with Endpoint protection is that it is engineered to work at protecting multiple devices, which is especially useful if your business is running a network-based setup. Better still, Endpoint protection offers all this power but is infinitely more adaptable, mainly because it works using a unified security system. What that gets business owners is lots more advanced tools, including the likes of AI and machine learning, all of which can be administered and managed using one central dashboard.
Spot the difference
With a more comprehensive solution in place, Endpoint security will be an obvious boon for any company that runs a lot of machines and devices on its network. Endpoint can scan the network continually for threats and suspicious behaviours. Antivirus, on the other hand, tends to do this at a given time, which means that it isn’t working in an ‘always on’ scenario. Staying on top of threats that can mutate continuously is obviously a huge benefit.
The same goes for the threat detection too, with antivirus using signature-based technology to do its work. While this is good enough, it’s not so great at tackling more advanced threat issues, which can include the likes of fileless malware. Networks can quickly be infected by malware like this, and Endpoint security allows business owners to stay one step ahead of the game by detecting threats at its firewall level.
Faster and efficient
Endpoint security is better at getting these jobs done more rapidly too, with the software getting rid of threats on the fly, rather than relying on the user intervention frequently required by the majority of antivirus packages. Equally, while Endpoint protection can pinpoint and remove threats dynamically, it can also retain the suspicious data before deleting it, allowing administrators to double check that the threat has indeed been malicious.
There’s certainly a lot more potency on offer from Endpoint security. For example, while antivirus software is quite good for giving reports back on single machines, it’s not as useful in the networked environment. Endpoint protection is excellent at collating reports from across a network of machines and devices, which allows IT departments to build up a bigger and better overall picture of the threats they have tackled and continue to face.
This is obviously invaluable for businesses that have to deal with a lot of employees and hardware on a daily basis. While antivirus software has its place and is still well suited to smaller concerns where equipment can be monitored more closely, in larger companies it's not really a wholly realistic proposition. Endpoint protection, therefore, starts to make more sense as the size of the company grows.
Rounding up
Moving from using business antivirus to Endpoint protection will make a lot of sense for business owners who feel like they’ve outgrown the fairly standard fare security packages on the market. Even credible business antivirus packages have plenty of merit, but they can be limited in their flexibility and IT departments can often feel a little underwhelmed by the versatility that comes with a lot of these bundles.
On the other hand, by heading in the direction of Endpoint protection, IT departments can enjoy a wealth of extra features and much more flexibility in the way the software works. It’s an ideal solution for burgeoning companies with lots of employees, including those on the payroll as well as contractors and freelancers.
Better still, Endpoint protection allows IT departments to keep better tabs on multiple machines as well as mobile devices and servers too, particularly as the majority of businesses now operate with a heavy dependence on the cloud. If your business falls into the latter area then it could well be time to ditch the business antivirus software and get the benefit of Endpoint protection instead.
