This post has been republished via RSS; it originally appeared at: Core Infrastructure and Security Blog articles.
Introduction
As Microsoft Endpoint Manager Configuration Manager Engineers we have always been asked by Business or IT Managers to accurately report on the Software Updates currently deployed in our environments. This could be as easy as just deploying Endpoint Protection updates or as advanced as deploying every category and 3rd Party Updates.
From our experience working with Microsoft Customers we have realized that for an IT Administrator new to Configuration Manager it can be difficult to consume all the hundreds of the out of box reports. That becomes even more difficult when you are an IT Manager just wanting to know overall compliance on a dashboard.
To address the above challenges we would like to introduce:
Microsoft Endpoint Manager: Update Compliance Dashboard - Engage 4 days with Microsoft Engineer to onboard a modern Updates Compliance reporting and visualization solution based on Power BI Online Service which is accessible from anywhere on any device. This is beneficial for IT Leaders, Stakeholders, Security & Compliance teams to automate KPI reporting on monthly patching cycles along with visibility of specific CVEs/threats. It summarizes Configuration Manager (CM) Database data periodically to provide rich software updates compliance analytics and prevents taxing of production CM site as you drill through your detailed update compliance reports.
Solution
This solution created by a few Microsoft Customer Engineers with years of experience in the field getting asked the same questions about Updates Compliance will address your Update Reporting needs.
The offering provides a customer the opportunity to engage with a Customer Engineer and focus on a few areas like
- Performance Review to understand the current performance bottlenecks or areas of concern in your deployment
- Root Cause Analysis to examine critical business processes and performance data to identify optimization opportunities
- Developing a plan to prioritize the biggest risks to your deployment and provide suggested resolutions
A set of Unique Inclusion and Exclusion Collections get created to identify valid Software Update reporting
Data is visualized by patch release cycle over the past 6 months and everything prior. These encompass Servicing Stack updates, Microsoft Updates, and WSUS integrated third-party apps
A unique Blacklisting feature which helps admins to determine if past deployments, Collection membership rules, and Software Update Group rules accounted for all business requirements over each patch release cycle
Extensive drill-through reporting details for accuracy and transparency
Drill Through to Endpoint
An easy to use Search to quickly see updates that are not deployed
and a section that focuses on Scan Errors and possible remediation
Evaluates monthly compliance on a per device basis, not by average deployment success rate, which is vital to keeping every organization secure
Conclusion
This solution will provide accurate reporting of your Software Updates across the entire IT Environment.
How do I book this engagement?
If you are a Microsoft Premier customer you can reach out to your Customer Success Account Manager(CSAM) for more questions!
Special thanks to the Dev Team:
Chris Sugdinis, Ken Wygant, Michael Schmidt, Morris Lloyd, Nathan Hughes , Russ Rimmerman, Shawn Rand, Sidnei Brandao, Todd Sterrett, Tom Ferguson, Suhail Abdul Salam, Werner Rall
Disclaimer
The sample scripts or Power BI Dashboards are not supported under any Microsoft standard support program or service. The sample scripts or Power BI Dashboards are provided AS IS without warranty of any kind. Microsoft further disclaims all implied warranties including, without limitation, any implied warranties of merchantability or of fitness for a particular purpose. The entire risk arising out of the use or performance of the sample scripts and documentation remains with you. In no event shall Microsoft, its authors, or anyone else involved in the creation, production, or delivery of the scripts or Power BI Dashboards be liable for any damages whatsoever (including, without limitation, damages for loss of business profits, business interruption, loss of business information, or other pecuniary loss) arising out of the use of or inability to use the sample scripts or documentation, even if Microsoft has been advised of the possibility of such damages.