ESN & consulting firm: IT asset management and cyber protection of consultants

Dozens of consultants on mission. So many customers and IT policies to comply with. And a digital reputation to defend. Here is the reality of Digital Services Company (ESN) and consultancy firm today.

A puzzle? It's nothing to say it!

Consultants are mobile, projects varied, and customer data security is crucial. How can you ensure that each consultant has the right equipment, at the right time, and securely?

And that's not all. In some missions, consultants use their own equipment or those of their company. In other cases, customers provide them with the devices.

This dual reality makes the task even more complex: you have to juggle flexibility, security and efficiency.

In this article, discover how to meet these challenges using best practices and adapted tools such as Rzilient and BoondManager, your allies for optimal mission management.

The challenges of equipment management for NSEs and consulting firms

Complex management due to mobility

Consultants never stay in one place for long. They sometimes work for customers, sometimes remotely, or move from one project to another. This constant mobility makes it difficult to monitor equipment:

• Where are laptops and smartphones located?
• How to identify which equipment is active and which is available?
• How do I maintain the devices remotely?

Without careful management, the risk of losses, failures, or duplicates increases.

Varied and evolving needs

Each mission is unique and imposes different hardware and software requirements. A consultant may need:

• A powerful computer to run resource-intensive software.
• Collaborative tools to coordinate remote teams.
• Application stacks specific to a sector or a particular project.

But that is not all. As missions follow one another quickly, it is crucial to be able to adapt the equipment and reallocate resources quickly. This lack of flexibility can lead to reduced productivity and even customer dissatisfaction.

Safety as a top priority

Consultants handle sensitive information on a daily basis, whether it's customer data or internal documents. The risk?

• A loss or theft of equipment containing confidential data.
• A cyberattack targeting a poorly protected device.
• A security breach caused by outdated software.

According to a study by Verizon, 43% of data breaches involve poorly secured mobile devices. In a context where customer confidentiality and trust are essential, ignoring these issues is simply unthinkable.

Best practices for effectively managing your equipment

Manage the computer equipment belonging to your IT services company or consulting company

Provide the right hardware and application stacks

Onboarding of a new collaborator or the integration of freelancers for specific projects is a crucial step for a good job entry and a rapid increase in skills. Ensuring that your consultants have the right equipment as soon as they arrive is therefore important. To do this, it is possible to set up automations that will save your IT and HR teams time and improve the employee experience:

• Buy or Leaser equipment adapted to the consultant, or assign one from stock.
• Create access to applications and essential software used internally: communication tool, CRM, HR software...
• Deploy policies of cybersecurity to protect equipment: VPN, antivirus...

By adopting the complementary tools of Rzilient and BoondManager, you make it easy to track these resources. The result: consultants are immediately operational and productivity losses are avoided.

To learn more about the native integration between the two solutions, consult the dedicated page —>

Manage equipment and software on a daily basis

Since Rzilient, the daily management of your computer equipment is no longer a chore. You can:

• Track devices in real time : location, status, and associated user.
• Plan maintenance to prevent breakdowns.
• Automate software updates to guarantee their safety and performance.

Optimizing the life cycle of equipment

Each device has a life cycle. Extend it with these simple actions:

• Rotation of equipment : assign them to different consultants to balance their use.
• Reconfiguration after each mission : software cleaning makes it possible to prepare the device for the next use.

Optimized management reduces costs and improves productivity.

Support consultants using customer equipment

Some consultants use devices provided directly by their customers. How do you deal with that?

• Give them access to internal tools from the ESN (email, intranet, collaborative platforms).
• Train them on IT security policies customers.
• Encourage strong cybersecurity practices, even on external devices.

Secure your consultants' devices

Establishing a strict security policy

Protecting your data starts with clear rules:

• Strong passwords : change them regularly and use managers.
• Multi-factor authentication (MFA) : Add an extra layer of security.

Manage ESN devices using an MDM

An MDM (Mobile Device Management) is essential to supervise and secure your equipment:

• Real-time tracking : Locate devices, even remotely.
• Lock or erase data in case of loss or theft

Managing customer equipment: a shared responsibility

When a consultant uses a client device, the responsibility for security is shared. Your role?

• Provide recommendations : encryption, antivirus, firewall.
• Respect access limits imposed by the customer.

Secure connections and data

Whether your consultants are at home or with a client, secure connections are essential:

• Use a VPN to secure remote access.
• Encrypt sensitive data, especially on mobile devices.

Conclusion

Managing a computer park in an IT services company or a consulting firm may seem complex. But with best practices and tools like Rzilient and BoondManager, you're turning that challenge into an opportunity.

Book a free demo of our solution now —>

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