The Secret to Efficient IT Management

INSIGHTS FOR IT HEROES ISSUE 9 The Future of Remote IT Management Can Be Found in the Cloud If one thing is becoming clear, it's that the transformation of the modern workforce is taxing IT resources within businesses of all sizes. According to an IDG survey, 88 percent of surveyed executives and IT decision makers view servicing a remote workforce as "very challenging." Going one step further, 35 percent of those surveyed identified remote maintenance and system repair as the biggest strain on IT departments. Efficiency then becomes crucial for IT professionals when it comes to keeping PC fleets operational. But with more people working remotely, out-of-band management tasks such as updating PCs or handling service requests can prove challenging. Without the proper infrastructure in place, it can be hard to gain access to a computer when end-users aren't sitting in front of it or it isn't powered on. More time and effort are then devoted to ensuring PC fleets are up to date, and less time is spent addressing more important issues that may arise. As organizations consider ways to manage PC fleets in an optimal manner, they should be looking to the cloud to more effectively address IT needs. So, how can the cloud lift the burden on IT departments? When properly implemented, cloud-based management solutions ensure that IT professionals can access PC fleets on a schedule that works best for them. Technologies such as Intel® Active Management Technology, along with tools such as Intel® Endpoint Management Assistant (Intel® EMA), allow for out-of-band access to PCs that are outside an organization's firewall without compromising security or requiring costly, labor-intensive configurations. By taking advantage of the powerful out-of-band management capabilities and cloud-based interface offered by Intel® Active Management Technology and Intel® EMA, organizations can build an IT strategy that's suited for a remote workforce. IT departments can then wake devices remotely, which makes it possible to deploy patches with minimal effort. In turn, IT professionals can spend less time dealing with PCs on a one-by-one basis. But when it comes to efficient cloud-based IT management, Intel® Active Management Technology and Intel® EMA are only part of the equation. It also needs to be easy to configure and use. A tech consulting firm put Intel® Active Management Technology and Intel® EMA through a rigorous set of tests and declared the technologies to be successes. "By taking advantage of the powerful out-of-band management capabilities and cloud-based interface offered by Intel® Active Management Technology and Intel® EMA, organizations can build an IT strategy that's suited for a remote workforce." Instead of complicated configuration processes, costly certificates, and confusing interfaces, the firm believes that the speedy setup process and easy-to-understand cloud management portal can "extend the reach of endpoint management for organizations of all sizes." Tasks that would usually take place within company walls, such as provisioning and power cycling, were carried out on a remote PC without sacrificing any functionality. Third-party software providers like VMWare are already taking advantage of these capabilities to enhance their IT management software solutions. When configured with Intel® Active Magement Technnaology, VMWare's WorkspaceONE software offers true out-of-band management, including remote configuration and recovery, zero-touch IT deployment, and increased success rates in applying software patches.  With a cloud-based IT strategy in place, organizations can then reap the benefits of more-powerful tools, such as automation. How can cloud-based automation address IT needs? Utilizing the cloud to easily access remote PCs can offer IT departments a remedy for many of the current challenges. By adding automation into the mix, greater efficiency is possible, and the true impact of the cloud can be felt. This is especially true for service management tasks. Whether an IT pro needs to assess performance issues hampering a PC or check on the status of fleet devices that have been offline for an extended period, automated service management tools that are powered by the cloud can streamline that process and potentially lead to cost reduction for organizations. In a joint study conducted by Intel and digital services provider Atos, the companies worked with two large organizations to implement Intel® Active Management Technology and Atos' automated service management tools, Beatbox and ServiceNow, as a test. Over the course of the study, there was notably less manual management that needed to be done for service requests. This includes gathering preliminary data from a machine when troubleshooting. Normally, an IT pro may need to execute specific commands to acquire the information they need. But with the automation solutions, ServiceNow and Beatbox worked with Intel® Active Management Technology to automatically gather the information as soon as the service request was made, and the information was provided to the IT pro from the start. Other real-world benefits of cloud-based automation that were identified through the study include quick power-downs of multiple machines at once in the instance of virus contamination, batch system checks for vulnerabilities and hardware compliance, and remote reimaging. "Whether an IT pro needs to assess performance issues hampering a PC or check on the status of fleet devices that have been offline for an extended period, automated service management tools that are powered by the cloud can streamline that process and potentially lead to cost reduction for organizations." Want to unlock the full power of cloud-based automation? Choose Intel® vPro Workplace performance insights aside, one of the biggest takeaways from Intel and Atos' study is that customer satisfaction was overwhelmingly positive. Those surveyed found that the software tools were easy to configure and use, and the capabilities of Intel® Active Management Technology and Intel® EMA were unmatched by competing technologies.  To take advantage of Intel® Active Management Technology and Intel® EMA, you'll need a fleet that runs on the Intel® vPro platform.  In addition to tackling the remote management needs of modern businesses, Intel® vPro offers best-in-class hardware-based security, fleet stability for at least 14 months after purchase, and performance that can meet the demands of your productive workforce.  With PCs available in a wide variety of configurations and form factors—including the thin, light, and stylish Intel® Evo™ vPro laptop—there's a device that can fit the wide-ranging needs of businesses and employees. While having infinite IT resources at your disposal may never be more than a daydream, the Intel® vPro platform, along with Intel® Active Management Technology and Intel® EMA, can help organizations get the very best out of their IT departments. Find out how the Intel® vPro platform can help your business. Learn more about Intel® Active Management Technology. The Intel vPro® platform is designed to meet the growing needs of IT professionals across four key pillars:     Professional-Grade Performance Equipping employees with PCs — from ultralight laptops to high-power  workstations — built on the Intel vPro® platform amplifies their effectiveness with industry - leading performance tuned to the real-world demands of today's professionals. Multilayer Security1 With security that goes beyond software — including built-in features for added protections below the OS, application and data security, and advanced threat detection—the Intel vPro® platform provides comprehensive multilayer security features. Complete Management With the Intel vPro platform, IT heroes like you can remotely discover, repair, and help protect networked PCs — even those outside the corporate firewall or those that can't boot. Predictable Stability  The demanding design requirements and rigorous testing ensure that all brands of PCs built on the Intel vPro® platform deliver a reliable, stable foundation for smoother fleet management and allow you to scale with confidence. 1Requires a network connection; must be a known network for Wi-Fi out-of-band management. Learn more at www.intel.com/vpro. Results may vary.  What is the Intel vPro® platform? Learn more here.  Ready to Get Started? Chat with us to find out more about how the Intel vPro® platform can work for your organization. Let's chat View in browser. Intel technologies may require enabled hardware, software or service activation. No product or component can be absolutely secure. Your results may vary. Performance varies by use, configuration and other factors. Learn more at www.Intel.com/PerformanceIndex. Performance results are based on testing as of dates shown in configurations and may not reflect all publicly available updates. Learn more at intel.com/vPro ©Intel Corporation

                                                           

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