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Endpoint organization is crucial. Without it, visibility is blurred, gaps occur in endpoint updates or patches, and you can throw strategy out the window without the necessary endpoint details to make calculated and comprehensive decisions.
Tags are essentially attributes or name identifiers that help associate an endpoint, or group of endpoints, logically. Tags also speed the effort of removing endpoints from actions that are not needed or could be detrimental.
Summary: Device tagging enables IT teams to organize, filter, and manage endpoints at scale by assigning logical identifiers to devices. Tags allow you to group endpoints by location, department, role, or any custom attribute. Effective tagging strategies reduce patch deployment errors, improve reporting accuracy, and enable automated policy targeting across distributed environments.
Why does device tagging matter for endpoint management?
Tagging makes it easy for IT to search for, organize, deploy, include or exclude, patch, update, configure, and manage your endpoints. Reporting is much easier when all endpoints are accounted for and tracked using tags.
Without consistent tagging, you lose the ability to target specific device groups for policy deployment. Manual endpoint management becomes unsustainable as your environment scales.
How should you coordinate your tagging strategy?
How IT teams use tags for coordinating and taking action on endpoints can vary greatly. The key is establishing a consistent approach across your organization.
Tags for organizing unrelated endpoints
Often, users are spread across different groups and time zones, but even these disparate endpoints may have similar OS, applications, or configurations that would cause them to be grouped for specific actions. Conversely, tags can be used to remove endpoints from actions.
For example, tags associated with executive laptops can be removed from updates that occur during the work week to avoid interruptions during critical meetings.
Ease of logically or organizationally grouping endpoints
Location-based, org-based, time-zone-based, or role-based tags are just a few examples of creating identifiable tags for your endpoints. As a typical user example, Sally works remotely on the West Coast (WestC), within the Purchasing team (Purchasing), as a buyer (Buyer).
Her devices may be tagged with all these various identifiers. When tasks come up, her device can easily be pulled into processes if the associated tags fall within the required targeting criteria.
Automating actions with tags
The more decisive you can be in your automated actions, the faster and more exact your actions become. When executing an automated policy within Automox, you can target devices by their tags with filters applied.
For example, endpoints with a "Servers" tag will be included in the targeting efforts while endpoints with a "Denver Office" tag will be excluded from the action. Once the filters are selected, Automox previews the endpoints falling within these set filters to validate your targeting efforts.
Align tags across tools
Many tools provide the option to create tags. This is helpful until you realize that most tools have tags created by different groups, or from previous tenures, that do not line up.
The same endpoint may have very different tags depending on the tools you are working from. Establishing tag parity across platforms eliminates confusion and reduces targeting errors.
Automox makes it easy to pull in and sync tags already created within other tools. Several integration options exist for maintaining consistency.
| Integration Method | Source | Use Case | Setup Complexity |
|---|---|---|---|
| AD OU Targeting | Active Directory | Windows environments with existing AD structure | Low |
| Lansweeper Sync | Lansweeper Cloud | Asset discovery and hardware details | Medium |
| API Integration | Custom sources | CMDB, ITSM, or other tools | High |
| Manual Tags | Automox console | Quick grouping for specific actions | Low |
Targeting by organizational unit (OU)
For Windows users, pulling in tags from your Active Directory is straightforward. Simply use the targeting filter Active Directory Organizational Unit (AD OU) when executing a policy.
This allows you to filter endpoints based on your AD structure with the AD OU information collected as the endpoint is scanned. The filter allows you to match tags without requiring Active Directory Domain Controller access since the AD OU information is pulled directly from each device.
Lansweeper and Automox integration
Automox has partnered with Lansweeper, an industry leader in the discovery and management of technology assets. The Automox and Lansweeper alliance includes a range of automations, or Worklets, that allow you to do more with your Lansweeper Cloud license.
The inaugural Worklet automation script allows for the dynamic creation of Automox tags based on endpoint details captured within an existing Lansweeper Cloud instance. Simply search for the Tag Automox Devices with Lansweeper Data Worklet in the Worklets catalog.
Driven through APIs, this Worklet only needs to target and run on a single Lansweeper host device. Once deployed, the Worklet queries this device to scan for and capture key data from Lansweeper, including serial numbers and their related tags. The Automox API then automatically correlates serial numbers that reside in both platforms, and devices with matching serial numbers are synchronized with the Lansweeper-defined tags within Automox.
How do you put tagging into practice?
Tagging may seem monotonous or an afterthought when times are busy. In reality, tags provide significant value for operational efficiency.
Tags are an organizational capability that can improve your IT team's organization and ease of use. Using tags effectively and across tools saves time when you are pressed for time or under pressure to complete a task quickly.
Follow these steps to implement an effective tagging strategy:
Audit existing tags across all endpoint management tools
Define a standardized naming convention for tag categories
Document tag definitions and usage guidelines for your team
Sync tags from authoritative sources like Active Directory or asset management tools
Review and clean up orphaned or outdated tags quarterly
Train team members on proper tag usage for new endpoints
Frequently asked questions
Device tagging is the practice of assigning labels or identifiers to endpoints that allow IT teams to organize, filter, and target devices for management actions. Tags can represent any attribute, such as location, department, operating system, or business function, enabling precise targeting for patches, policies, and configurations.
Tags allow you to target specific device groups for patch deployment rather than applying patches universally. You can exclude critical systems during business hours, prioritize high-risk endpoints, and create staged rollouts by tag group. This precision reduces deployment errors and minimizes business disruption.
Yes, many endpoint management platforms support tag synchronization through APIs or direct integrations. Automox integrates with Active Directory for OU-based targeting and partners with Lansweeper for asset tag synchronization. Custom API integrations can also pull tags from CMDB or ITSM tools.
Effective tag naming conventions are consistent, descriptive, and hierarchical when needed. Use a standard format like "Category-Value" (Location-Denver, Role-Developer, OS-Windows11). Avoid special characters, keep names concise, and document all tag definitions for team reference.
Review your tagging strategy quarterly to remove outdated tags, add new categories as your environment evolves, and ensure tag accuracy across all platforms. Trigger reviews when significant organizational changes occur, such as office relocations, department restructures, or major infrastructure changes.
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