Is CurrentWare Right for Your Business? Use Cases & ROIIn an era where hybrid work, remote access, and cybersecurity concerns converge, organizations increasingly seek software that enforces acceptable use, protects data, and helps managers measure and improve productivity. CurrentWare is a suite of endpoint management and employee monitoring tools designed to help IT teams and managers manage devices, enforce policies, and gain visibility into endpoint activity. This article explains what CurrentWare does, who benefits most from it, practical use cases, how to evaluate return on investment (ROI), deployment considerations, and alternatives to compare.
What is CurrentWare?
CurrentWare is a family of Windows-focused endpoint solutions that typically include:
- BrowseControl — web filtering and website blocking on endpoints.
- Fence — application control to allow/deny software usage.
- Monitor — employee monitoring and productivity analytics.
- AccessPatrol — USB control and device management.
- Centralized Server/Console — policy management, reporting, and deployment.
Together these components let organizations control user access to websites, applications, and removable devices, record or monitor user activity, and enforce security and acceptable-use policies centrally.
Key features and capabilities
- Centralized policy and configuration management for Windows endpoints.
- Website and category-based web filtering (with whitelisting/blacklisting).
- Application allow/deny lists and scheduling.
- USB port and peripheral device control (read/write blocking, device whitelists).
- Activity monitoring: screenshots, active window tracking, application/website usage logs, time tracking.
- Role-based admin access and audit logging.
- Reporting: productivity metrics, compliance or security incident evidence, trend analysis.
- Offline enforcement: many controls apply even when endpoints are off-network (agent-based).
- Integration and deployment options for on-premise or cloud-managed consoles (depending on product edition).
Which businesses benefit most?
CurrentWare fits organizations that need strong endpoint control and visibility without adopting intrusive cloud-only surveillance platforms. Typical good fits include:
- SMBs and mid-market companies that run predominantly Windows desktops and laptops.
- Schools and educational institutions controlling web access and applications in labs or classrooms.
- Healthcare clinics and medical offices that must limit device use and block removable media to reduce data exfiltration risk.
- Financial services, legal, and other compliance-driven firms needing audit trails and controls over application and peripheral use.
- Manufacturing or retail locations where specific applications and USB devices must be tightly controlled.
- Managed Service Providers (MSPs) managing multiple clients who require per-client policy control.
Not an ideal fit if you have a large, heterogeneous device fleet dominated by macOS, Linux, or mobile OS (iOS/Android) where agent support and policy parity are limited.
Practical use cases
- Productivity and time management
- Track application and website usage to identify time sinks and optimize workflows.
- Enforce scheduled access to social media or streaming services during work hours.
- Security / Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
- Block unauthorized USB storage devices or restrict them to read-only mode to mitigate data exfiltration.
- Prevent use of unauthorized applications that might introduce malware.
- Compliance and auditing
- Maintain logs and screenshots to demonstrate compliance with regulations or internal policies.
- Generate reports for audits or investigations into policy violations.
- Classroom and training management
- Lock down student devices to permitted learning resources and assessment applications.
- Monitor exam sessions to reduce cheating risk.
- Remote and hybrid worker oversight
- Monitor remote employees’ active time patterns and application usage while balancing privacy policies and trust.
- Apply stricter controls to sensitive roles (finance, HR) while allowing more freedom for creative teams.
- Software license & application control
- Ensure licensed applications are used as intended and prevent installation or execution of unauthorized software.
Estimating ROI
ROI depends on the organization’s pain points and how CurrentWare is used. Estimate ROI by quantifying savings and risk reduction:
-
Productivity gains:
- Measure baseline time lost to non-work websites/applications (e.g., X hours/week per employee).
- Estimate reclaimable productive hours after controls and multiply by average hourly wage.
-
Security incident reduction:
- Estimate frequency and cost of data breaches or malware incidents attributed to removable media or rogue applications.
- Factor in avoided incident response costs, downtime, legal/regulatory fines, and reputation damage.
-
License and software cost control:
- Savings from preventing unauthorized software deployment or better managing concurrent usage.
-
Compliance and audit savings:
- Reduced staff time for audit preparation and lower fines/penalties risk.
Example quick model:
- 200 employees, average fully loaded hourly cost $40.
- If monitoring and blocking reduce nonproductive time by 0.5 hours/employee/day => 100 hours/day regained => \(4,000/day => ~\)1M/year (assuming 250 workdays). Implementation and annual licensing well below that would yield strong ROI. Adjust assumptions conservatively.
Deployment & operational considerations
- Agent requirements: CurrentWare primarily uses Windows agents. Ensure your endpoint OS mix and versions are supported.
- Privacy and policy: Create clear written policies that explain monitoring scope, data retention, and acceptable use. Communicate to staff to maintain trust and comply with local laws.
- Performance: Test agents on representative hardware to ensure no unacceptable performance impact.
- Network & architecture: Decide on on-premises vs cloud console, bandwidth for reporting/updates, and how offline endpoints are handled.
- Legal & HR: Coordinate with legal and HR for disciplinary, consent, and privacy obligations—especially across jurisdictions with strong employee privacy laws.
Limitations and drawbacks
- Limited cross-platform support: macOS, Linux, iOS and Android coverage is typically weaker or nonexistent compared with Windows.
- Perceptions of surveillance: If implemented without transparency, monitoring can harm morale and trust.
- Feature gaps vs. full DLP suites: While it provides device control and monitoring, it is not a full replacement for advanced DLP, CASB, or EDR solutions for sophisticated threat detection.
- Scalability considerations: Larger enterprises should validate reporting performance and multi-site management capabilities.
Alternatives and comparisons
Popular alternatives include endpoint monitoring and DLP vendors such as Teramind, Veriato, ActivTrak, CrowdStrike (for EDR rather than monitoring), and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (EDR and some control features). Choose based on platform coverage, privacy features, depth of DLP, and integration with existing security stack.
| Criteria | CurrentWare | ActivTrak | Teramind | Microsoft Defender |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windows support | Strong | Strong | Strong | Strong |
| macOS support | Limited | Good | Good | Good |
| USB/device control | Yes | Limited | Yes | Limited |
| Application control | Yes | Limited | Yes | Limited |
| Advanced threat detection (EDR) | No | No | Limited | Yes |
| On-premise option | Yes | Limited | Yes | No |
Decision checklist: Is CurrentWare right for you?
- Do you manage mostly Windows endpoints? — if yes, positive.
- Do you need USB/device control and app blocking? — if yes, positive.
- Are compliance logs and simple monitoring sufficient vs. advanced DLP/EDR? — if yes, positive.
- Do you require macOS/iOS-first coverage? — if no, reconsider.
- Can you implement clear policies to address privacy concerns? — if yes, proceed.
Implementation steps (high level)
- Pilot: Select a representative group (different roles, OS, and locations).
- Policy drafting: Define monitoring, retention, and disciplinary policies with HR/legal.
- Deploy agents: Roll out to pilot, monitor performance and user feedback.
- Configure rules: Set web, app, and device controls per role.
- Measure: Collect baseline metrics and compare after enforcement.
- Scale: Gradually expand, refine rules, and train managers on interpreting reports.
Bottom line
CurrentWare is a solid choice for organizations that need strong Windows endpoint control—especially where USB/device management, application blocking, and simple productivity monitoring are priorities. Its ROI is often driven by regained productive time, reduced data-exfiltration risk, and simplified compliance evidence. If your environment is mixed-OS, or you require advanced threat detection, evaluate alternatives or complementary security tools alongside CurrentWare.
Leave a Reply