The security of workplace devices remains a growing concern within hybrid and remote environments. Absolute Software released research on how device environments, including operating system (OS) fragmentation and volume of applications, is impacting security and compliance posture.

The findings contradict the long-held belief that having more security solutions directly equates to more protection. The work-from-anywhere model is exacerbating the strain on IT and security teams.

Within the researched device population, there were 14 different software versions and more than 800 builds and patches to manage. Research also shows there are 67 applications installed on the average enterprise device, with 10% of those devices having more than 100 applications installed.

The data shows seven of the 10 apps analyzed were installed and healthy on less than 80% of devices on average.