Device and license management, device encryption, data communications – the IT department has a long list when it comes to offboarding. But with a few recommendations, companies can make the offboarding process not only easy and secure, but also save resources, time, and money in the process. The solution is simple – the standardization of processes. Processes can be standardized so that those involved do not run the risk of forgetting something. At the same time, it opens the door to process automation.
The two cornerstones of secure offboarding are asset management (hardware and software) and security management. In both areas, there are different aspects to consider in order to ensure successful offboarding.
Keeping everything in view at all times: offboarding with clever asset management
Offboarding and device management
Device management is based on two fundamental principles: transparency and uniformity. In fact, centralized management means that the IT department has immediate transparency for all end devices regarding their current status and any changes made to them. Modern systems use intelligent methods to automatically provide solutions and increase the degree of automation in inventory and stocktaking. It is a means to record each end device and always know its status. When an employee leaves the company, it only takes a brief glance at the system to see which devices the employee needs to return.
Good device management has two benefits for the offboarding process: Transparency regarding the inventory means that devices can be turned in on the last day of work quickly and without lengthy preparations. It also means that data anomaly detection (monitoring the data flow for corporate security), which is important in the offboarding process, can be done efficiently and quickly without overlooking an end device with data flows. An optimal offboarding process is the union of asset and security management.
Offboarding and software management
Some companies still perform their license management manually in Excel spreadsheets – a process that uses lots of resources. After all, software asset management has long been a task for companies. With the right tool, detailed reports can help consolidate the license status of each person, and it can be done automatically. That way, companies will not need to pay a day more than necessary for the licenses the departing employee had been using. What’s more, IT can reassign those licenses in seconds, which also saves employee resources. Transparency in terms of license and software usage is also very important for compliance reasons, as it allows the IT department to quickly identify and resolve deviations and issues.
A central inventory for hardware and software is a prerequisite for their efficient provision, but also when restricting assets if an employee leaves the company. The most efficient solution to provide full transparency is autodiscovery. Hardware and software management converge in Matrix42 Digital Workspace Management as a central interface. This tool enables the IT team to have cross-process access to all inventory data for applications and devices. At the same time, they can identify existing and new assets throughout the entire service process and assign them to the right users.
Offboarding whilst protecting corporate data: security management
Device encryption and access rights are key
Device encryption is an essential part of offboarding to prevent misuse or loss. The IT department can encrypt storage devices, individual files, cloud storage, hard drives, and directories using a security solution like EgoSecure Data Protection. Full protection of highly sensitive data can be guaranteed at all times. It is also possible to perform additional authentication. And all this happens without users noticing or being hindered in their daily work. Authorizations are also clearly defined on all sides, and data can only be exchanged via authorized persons and channels. Security from the first to the last day also guarantees effective access control for devices. But device and access control not only protects against misuse by former employees, it also enables active, rapid management of access rights from USB flash drives to wireless LAN and cloud services.
Controlling the flow of data during offboarding
Monitoring data flows in the company is not only as issue in an offboarding context, but it is an important process to protect corporate data – one of the most important assets of a company. If the IT department has the right tool at its disposal, it can view all data flows in the network at the click of a mouse, and even do so efficiently and with visual aids. This means that there is always full control over all end devices, interfaces, and cloud data. In order for this to happen, companies need to prioritize the proper documentation of forensic information. Conspicuous data flows, especially during the offboarding process, are immediately apparent, and the IT department can quickly draw the appropriate conclusions.
Companies that have done good groundwork in the area of endpoint management will benefit here. After all, a behavior-based starting point for each employee and each end device makes it easier to detect patterns. Only then does the system recognize when something unusual happens, such as when an employee suddenly uploads a large amount of data from a company-owned device a few days before leaving. The system can block the attempt in real time and avert damage in the process. The offboarding process is a complex and at times confusing one despite a high degree of automation. Fortunately, there are software-based solutions that cover all of these areas. Our asset management and security solutions help save time and money by managing them through the central Digital Workspace Management tool. At the same time, they ensure that the offboarding process is optimized while guaranteeing maximum transparency throughout the entire offboarding process.
