TL;DR
RSM Netherlands, the Dutch member firm of RSM Global, one of the world's largest audit and accounting networks, faced a problem: no visibility into the software landscape running across its computer fleet. After moving away from Nexthink, RSM Netherlands adopted Applixure to gain direct ownership of software discovery, version visibility, and control. The result is a full, up-to-date picture of installed applications and version fragmentation across all endpoints.
The Challenge
RSM Netherlands operates as an ISO 27001-certified organization with a lean internal IT team managing a fleet of endpoints for a professional services workforce, where employee productivity and billability are direct business KPIs. Software compliance and security hygiene are not optional considerations; they sit within a structured governance framework that includes mandatory patching SLAs tied to CVE severity scores.
The problem was not a lack of policy. RSM Netherlands had clear standards: software should be deployed and version-managed through Microsoft Intune, and any critical vulnerability (CVSS 9.0 or above) should be patched within seven days. The problem was visibility.
Without visibility, software version sprawl was an invisible risk. RSM Netherlands had no fast way to answer a basic but consequential question: when a critical CVE is published for a widely-used application, which versions are running across the fleet, on which devices, and how far behind is the patching process?
Third-party applications, in particular, tools that auto-update on their own schedule, were a blind spot. The auto-update mechanism works most of the time, but not always, and without a reliable way to detect exceptions, non-compliant endpoints could remain unpatched and undetected.
The Approach
RSM Netherlands adopted Applixure primarily as a software intelligence tool, with immediate focus on two areas:
- discovering exactly what is installed across all endpoints
- monitoring version fragmentation for business-critical and security-relevant applications.
The deployment was straightforward. Applixure's agent-based approach integrated with the existing Intune infrastructure without heavy configuration work, and the platform was accessible to the IT team from day one without the need for a dedicated administrator or extended onboarding period.
The team quickly established a working method for CVE response. When a major vulnerability is published, the team opens Applixure and, within seconds, can see every version of the affected application currently running across the fleet, ranked by device count.
This gives them an immediate triage view:
- which endpoints are already auto-updated,
- which are lagging,
- and where an Intune-forced package deployment is necessary to close the gap.
The same view is used proactively for routine version hygiene. Because RSM Netherlands has a formal policy of maintaining a single version of each application through Intune, Applixure's version fragmentation data functions as a continuous compliance check on whether those policies are actually working. Software titles appearing in multiple versions signal a breakdown somewhere in the deployment or update chain, something Applixure surfaces without any manual investigation.
The Results
- From 0% visibility to a 100% complete current software inventory. Prior to Applixure, RSM Netherlands had no independent software visibility. As Guido Lambertij, IT Architect at RSM Netherlands, described it: "It gives us insights from nothing to everything."
- Immediate CVE triage, reduced from hours to seconds. When a vulnerability is announced, the team now has a clear view of version distribution across the fleet within seconds. For an organization operating under a mandatory seven-day patching SLA for CVE scores of 9.0 or above, this speed of insight is directly operationally relevant.
- Unapproved browser usage identified and resolved. Applixure surfaced instances of employees running non-approved browsers across devices where IT policy specifies Microsoft Edge. The team used this visibility to remove unapproved software, preventing potential gaps in endpoint protection policy from persisting undetected.
Why Applixure
For RSM Netherlands, three factors drove the decision away from more complex alternatives and toward Applixure.
- Accurate & Easy-to-use. The IT team needed a tool they could operate themselves, without a full-time administrator. Applixure delivers actionable software and versioning data in a few clicks.
- Friendly Price. That low friction made the procurement decision easy and the business case self-evident.
- MSP Collaboration Tool: RSM Netherlands relies on an MSP for technical application management, but Applixure gives the internal IT team access to its own data.
In RSM's Own Words
"It gives us insights from nothing to everything. With only a few clicks, you can drill down to the software, understand the version landscape, and see what action is appropriate. Easy-to-use software, and it's really helpful."
- Guido Lambertij, IT Architect, RSM Netherlands
