Systems Insights for Data Analytics and Compliance

Written by Stephanie DeCamp on February 11, 2020

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On any given day, IT admins have a wealth of crucial data crossing their paths. Analyzing it for actionable insights into security and compliance is a central part of the job. Yet systems data can be a difficult thing to collect (let alone analyze), and all the more so if you’re working in a global organization. This is when the right tool can make all the difference, both in the long run and the immediate.

Data Analytics and Compliance Tools

Data analytics gives admins visibility into their IT environment and protects against security threats. For example, IT admins can see computer uptime for troubleshooting, or search for unapproved apps that increase risk. Armed with this knowledge, admins can proactively solve issues before they become serious.

This also ensures that people can get their work done in a timely and efficient manner. Armed with insights like a machine’s state, OS version or Bitlocker and FileVault settings, an admin can solve problems faster. Sometimes it’s even possible to do so without having to interrupt an employee’s workflow. Thus it can save time and money, as well as increase performance across an enterprise.

Collecting the right data points can help in compliance and auditing, and result in constructive, actionable insights. It helps if they can assess all their systems, no matter where they are, and no matter what OS they may be running — be it Mac®, Linux®, or Windows®. Although there are many ways to gather information across different operating systems, the more comprehensive reporting tools will be usable across all three. 

For example, system data like latest updates or patches can help show that security is up to par. And ensuring full-disk encryption can keep you compliant with industry standards like HIPPA, PCI, and GDPR. An automated tool can provide this data to auditors virtually instantly. 

Consider Systems Insights

One solution available is Systems Insights, a premium feature of JumpCloud Directory-as-a-Service. The tool provides a centralized way to access information and prove compliance. 

System Insights collects hundreds of data points for quick delivery of data when time and accuracy really counts. Admins access this information in three ways: by interacting with directory objects by command-line interface within the JumpCloud API, executing commands in the JumpCloud PowerShell module, or through the GUI in the Admin Console. 

Here’s more detail about how System Insights helps solve user issues, manage assets, identify security vulnerabilities and meet compliance and auditing needs:

  • See computer uptime to know when a machine was last rebooted
  • Troubleshoot problems of user access to internal resources
  • Take inventory of patches and operating system versions
  • Take inventory of apps and browser extensions 
  • Examine system information on CPU, memory, model and make, OS version, and storage
  • Ensure full-disk encryption is activated
  • Verify only certain users have access to crucial information

These features can do everything from identifying security issues to solving user issues. Many of them can be helpful in asset management and in proving compliance.

Create Actionable Insights 

In addition to System Insights, JumpCloud’s Directory-as-a-Service features a broad array of functionality. This includes GPO-like policies for measures like FDE, lock screen control, disabling USB storage, system updates, and much more. All of this allows you to not only provide data for an audit, but also take action on that data should the audit turn something up. Actionable insights are, after all, the ideal result of data analytics. 

With this kind of in-depth, system-level telemetry, you can take decisive action across the board. JumpCloud is a centralized and system-agnostic tool for identity and access management, and when combined with System Insights, allows for comprehensive improvement when and where it really counts.

Learn More

To learn more about JumpCloud and System Insights, check out our System Insights product page. You can also contact us with any of your questions, or to schedule a free demo.

Stephanie DeCamp

Stephanie DeCamp is an award-winning journalist, photographer and writer. She graduated from Metro State University with degrees in Journalism and Spanish, and has worked and travelled extensively through Central and South America. An avid lover of technology, literature, cinema and music, she and her cat Milo are devoted to their chosen home of Denver, CO.

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