Dive Brief:

• IBM announced Monday a new cognitive assistant that uses IBM Watson artificial intelligence and machine learning to manage and protect enterprise endpoints such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, IoT devices and more.

• Dubbed the MaaS360 Advisor, the tool can analyze devices on a network and recommend policies, patches and customized best practices to protect them, according to an IBM press release.

• While just 15% of organizations use a centralized management approach for mobile devices today, that number is expected to increase to 54% by 2020, according to the Mobile Vision 2020 study from IBM Security and Forrester Research.

Dive Insight:

Many businesses struggle to manage the needs of employees who want network access all the time and on any device, and the vulnerabilities that type of access presents.

MaaS360 Advisor is all about offering businesses an easy way to see all the devices connecting to the network and a comprehensive way to manage the security of those devices. After all, just one piece of malware can take down an entire network, and an uncoordinated approach means companies often duplicate efforts or leave themselves exposed through security gaps.

IBM says it’s Watson-based approach to enterprise security can help businesses better manage mobile device sprawl and their uncoordinated approach to managing security for all of those devices. After all, almost half of information workers say they use at least three devices for work on a weekly basis and BYOD now accounts for 80% of devices in corporations.