When Hardware Gets Scarce, Endpoint Strategy Matters More Than Ever

For more than a decade, the cybersecurity industry has focused on a single goal: detecting compromise faster. Today, however, the challenge extends beyond detection. It is about how the endpoint itself is designed, secured and managed.

As organisations across Australia and New Zealand embrace cloud services, hybrid work and digital transformation, endpoint environments are becoming increasingly complex. At the same time, ransomware threats, supply chain constraints and rising hardware costs are forcing leaders to rethink traditional approaches to endpoint security and management.

The question is no longer whether organisations can detect an attack quickly enough. It is whether they can maintain operations when one occurs. That shift in perspective is driving a new approach to endpoint strategy centered on resilience, recoverability, and control.

Why the ANZ market cannot ignore this shift

Australia and New Zealand are among the world’s most digitally connected economies, with cloud adoption, hybrid work and digital service delivery now central to how organisations operate.

The latest Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) reporting highlights the scale of the challenge. More than 84,700 cybercrime reports were submitted during FY2024-25, the equivalent of one report every six minutes. Ransomware, data breaches and attacks targeting critical infrastructure continue to increase, while healthcare providers, government agencies and businesses remain frequent targets.

Healthcare providers are under particular pressure, with ransomware incidents involving the sector doubling year-over-year. At the same time, ongoing hardware constraints and rising device costs are making endpoint lifecycle management a strategic business issue. Organisations are increasingly viewing endpoint strategy through the lens of resilience, cost control and operational readiness.

Why the current model falls short

Most endpoint security strategies are built on the assumption that compromise will eventually occur. This stems from the way endpoints have traditionally been designed as open, flexible platforms capable of supporting an almost unlimited range of applications and use cases.

That flexibility comes at a cost. It increases complexity, expands the attack surface, and creates more opportunities for attackers to establish persistence. It also places greater demands on endpoint hardware at a time when many organisations are facing rising device costs, ongoing supply chain pressures and extended refresh cycles.

Security teams are therefore facing a difficult combination of rising threat levels, increasing complexity, costly recovery efforts and growing pressure to extend device lifecycles.

The outcome is predictable: greater risk, more operational overhead and less control. Organisations are being asked to secure increasingly complex environments while also extending the life of existing devices and managing growing budget pressures.

Simply adding more security tools does not address the underlying issue. Instead, many organisations are beginning to look at how they can simplify the endpoint itself, reducing complexity while improving security, resilience and operational efficiency.

The shift toward operational resilience

Across Australia and New Zealand, organizations are moving beyond a purely detection-centric approach to security.

The next phase of cybersecurity will not be defined by adding more tools to already complex environments. It will be driven by simplifying infrastructure, improving recoverability, and building resilience into the endpoint itself.

This shift is being driven by more than cyber threats alone. Rising hardware costs, supply chain uncertainty and longer device refresh cycles are forcing organisations to reconsider how they manage and secure endpoint estates. Rather than relying on frequent hardware replacement, many are looking for ways to extend the life of existing devices while maintaining security, user experience and operational continuity.

This is where purpose-built endpoint operating systems play a critical role. By replacing general-purpose endpoints with secure, centrally managed, immutable environments, organisations can reduce complexity, strengthen security and maximise the value of existing technology investments.

Leading organisations are already moving in this direction. They are simplifying endpoint management through immutable operating models, centralised governance and architectures designed for rapid recovery.

This approach enables organisations to:

• Reduce attack surface
• Eliminate unauthorised change and persistence
• Enforce consistent security policies
• Improve endpoint visibility and control
• Accelerate recovery at scale
• Extend the usable life of existing devices and reduce reliance on hardware refresh cycles

Rather than assuming compromise is inevitable and focusing exclusively on detection, organisations can reduce the opportunities for attackers to gain and maintain a foothold in the first place. At the same time, they can build a more resilient endpoint strategy that supports both cybersecurity objectives and long-term operational efficiency.

Customer Example: Western Health

This approach is already delivering measurable results in Australia’s healthcare sector.

Western Health, one of Australia’s leading healthcare providers, needed to modernise its endpoint infrastructure while improving security, extending device lifecycles, and reducing management complexity. With more than 12,000 employees serving over 700,000 patients annually, maintaining clinical and operational continuity is critical.

Rather than accelerating costly refresh programmes, Western Health looked to maximise the value of its existing endpoint estate while maintaining security and performance.

As Cameron McBride, Divisional Director, Digital Technology Services at Western Health, explains:

“We chose IGEL because of its impressive functionality. Additionally, it enabled us to utilise our thin clients more sustainably by facilitating a transition of support from the device manufacturer to IGEL, thereby extending the useful life of our assets.”

By adopting IGEL, Western Health was able to:

• Extend the life of approximately 1,000 endpoint devices
• Simplify endpoint management through centralized control
• Improve security and supportability
• Integrate seamlessly with Imprivata and virtual desktop environments
• Maintain current security updates with minimal disruption for clinical staff

The result was a more resilient endpoint environment that enhanced user experience while supporting sustainability and operational efficiency.

Join the conversation in Melbourne

These themes will take center stage at the IGEL Now & Next Workspace & Endpoint Security Summit on 17 September 2026 in Melbourne.

IT and security leaders from across Australia and New Zealand, including Western Health’s Cameron McBride, will come together to share practical approaches to how organisations can:

• Strengthen cyber resilience across healthcare, government and critical infrastructure
• Simplify endpoint environments and reduce operational complexity
• Improve recovery readiness against ransomware and disruptive attacks
• Support secure digital workspaces across hybrid environments
• Modernize endpoint strategies while extending device lifecycles

Sponsors include Omnissa and UltrArmor.

Register here to reserve your spot and join CIOs, CISOs, healthcare leaders, government organizations, and technology experts as they explore one critical question:

What does resilient endpoint architecture look like in practice for organizations across Australia and New Zealand?