Configuration drift comes with modern IT. Devices update, people change roles, exceptions pile up, and system configurations don’t always stay aligned. A baseline that looked solid on day one can slip within weeks, especially across mixed fleets and production environments where small changes compound quickly.
If you own IT and security (or most of it) at a growing company, you already know what “good” looks like. You can set strong policies and choose the right controls. The hard part is keeping those controls accurate as the environment changes faster than anyone can manually check.
That’s why managed security is shifting from “monitor + react” to continuous control enforcement. Alerts can tell you something has changed, but they don’t keep configurations up to date. Teams need systems that monitor for drift, triage what matters, and automatically enforce key baselines where possible.
Understanding configuration drift starts with a simple idea: it’s the gap between the baseline you intended and what devices actually look like a few weeks later. Drift shows up because environments don’t sit still—re-enrollment, OS updates, and exceptions introduce configuration changes that quietly pull endpoints away from the desired configuration.
This is where Zip fits. Zip helps teams keep control and continuous by using automated tools for drift detection, then enforcing key baselines across Jamf and Intune as fleets change.
Most drift starts with normal operations:
None of this means you run a sloppy program—it means you run a real one.
Most teams don’t use a single control surface. They run several:
Jamf and Intune are best-in-class, but they don’t automatically coordinate across a mixed fleet. EDR and identity signals live elsewhere, which forces you to do the glue work—exporting, cross-checking, and reconciling what should be true with what’s actually true.
Drift turns into work, work turns into tickets, and tickets turn into backlog—until the backlog becomes your baseline. Monitoring tells you something changed, but enforcement keeps it correct, and no team can keep up with a constant manual security check across every device and setting. Without enforcement, drift can lead to security vulnerabilities, performance issues, and eventually security breaches that expose sensitive data.
Drift rarely shows up as “everything broke.” It shows up as small gaps that quietly widen over time.
Here are a few examples you’ll recognize:
This is why configuration drift management becomes part of daily operations. These aren’t one-off issues—they’re the predictable result of constant change.
Zip makes gaps visible, enforces what it can automatically, and flags what actually needs your attention so you don’t spend your day chasing low-risk noise.
Automated security remediation doesn’t eliminate drift forever. Devices change, policies evolve, and exceptions come up. The value comes from reducing manual checking by detecting drift, automating routine tasks, and recording what happened.
Modern environments change too fast for manual enforcement, so teams rely on automated configuration management to restore baselines where possible and triage what needs human attention.
If you want quick wins, start with controls that drift often and matter immediately:
Zip helps teams start with the controls that drift most often in Jamf + Intune, and it keeps them enforced over time without daily babysitting.
For many teams, automation matters most in EDR. Many companies skip endpoint detection and response because they can’t staff it. They know it’s best practice, but they also know it creates a steady stream of alerts someone has to interpret and manage.
Zip makes EDR realistic for lean teams by operationalizing CrowdStrike—monitoring alerts, triaging urgency, and resolving routine or low-risk issues, including false alarms and easy fixes. That way, the same person running everything else can also run EDR, without getting buried.
Zip doesn’t replace Jamf or Intune. Instead, it sits above them as the control plane, which changes day-to-day operations in a few practical ways:
Book a demo to see how Zip keeps Jamf + Intune baselines enforced over time.
If you want a simple operating model that doesn’t require heroics, use this sequence:
Even with strong configuration management tools in place, maintaining consistent configurations takes ongoing enforcement. If you already run Jamf or Intune, Zip helps keep those baselines enforced without constant manual checking, and it enables you to run modern endpoint security (EDR) without adding headcount.
Configuration drift will keep showing up because change never stops. The difference is whether you chase it manually or rely on continuous monitoring that enforces what’s routine and escalates what’s urgent. That’s why Zip exists: to help lean teams keep Jamf + Intune settings correct and enforced over time, and to operationalize CrowdStrike so strong EDR stays practical without dedicated headcount.
See how Zip device management keeps Jamf and Intune settings enforced over time.
Configuration drift occurs when your intended baseline (for example, Jamf/Intune policies) no longer matches what devices actually run as updates, exceptions, and everyday changes accumulate. For instance, Windows update rings drift across a subset of devices, creating a patch gap you don’t notice until an audit, customer review, or incident prompts a deeper check.
Reactive security responds after issues surface: alerts create tickets, tickets create backlog, and drift grows while you triage. Proactive security aims to keep the baseline accurate by combining monitoring with continuous enforcement and automated remediation, so routine drift is corrected consistently and exceptions remain intentional rather than becoming silent gaps.
No—Zip works with Jamf and Intune; it doesn’t replace them. Zip sits above them as the control plane, showing you what runs across your fleet, keeping key settings in place over time with less manual intervention, and helping you manage configuration drift before it becomes bigger gaps. Zip also operationalizes CrowdStrike so a lean team can run EDR without getting buried in alerts.
