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2026 State of Endpoint Management Report

Why Manual Endpoint Management Is Failing IT Teams

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Manual work is eating IT alive – and this year’s State of Endpoint Management report shows exactly where that strain is coming from. Even with better tools and growing expectations for automation, most organizations are still stuck in the past.

Teams are dealing with more devices, more vulnerabilities, and more distributed environments. But instead of gaining efficiency, many are losing ground – held back by legacy systems, fragmented tools, and limited visibility.

The Hidden Cost of Manual IT Workflows

This year’s survey highlights a clear pattern: manual work is slowing teams down and widening the attack surface. Forty-three percent of respondents spend 10 or more hours each week on manual endpoint tasks, and more than half take five or more days to patch or don’t know their MTTP at all. Only six percent say they’ve reached full automation.

Endpoint Visibility Gaps Create Security Blind Spots

Visibility is another major challenge. Most teams still build reports manually, and only seventeen percent have a unified dashboard showing end-to-end patch status. With spreadsheets aging faster than the data inside them, teams are making decisions without reliable insight into risk.

Partial Automation Isn’t Enough to Reduce Risk

At the same time, partial automation hasn’t been enough to close the gap. While many teams automate OS patching, most rely on scripts or ad hoc workflows that don’t scale. Budget constraints, technical debt, and skill gaps continue to slow progress.

The Shift Toward Autonomous Endpoint Management (AEM)

Still, this year’s report shows strong momentum toward autonomous endpoint management – if teams can build the right trust and guardrails. Top safeguards requested include automated rollbacks, pause/override controls, and RBAC with audit logs. Together, these create the confidence teams need to shift from reactive manual work to proactive automation.

See How Your IT Team Compares in 2026

Want to see how your team compares – and where the biggest opportunities lie?

Read the summary and download the full 2026 report.