How Intel® vPro® platform enables remote manageability for the modern workforce

Today, as most employees and IT teams no longer work under the same roof, fixing glitchy PCs and proactively managing the PC fleet has become increasingly difficult. To support dispersed workforces, IT teams everywhere need the tools to protect corporate assets including sensitive business data, improve company productivity, reduce downtime control costs, and build a PC fleet on a reliable platform.

Built for business, the Intel^® vPro^® platform is engineered to meet the needs of today’s IT professionals with a suite of transformative technologies. It also provides IT teams the power of complete remote manageability of their entire PC fleet. IT teams can discover, repair and protect the PC fleet from wherever IT is located.

Intel^® Active Management Technology (Intel^® AMT), a technology built into the Intel^® vPro^® platform, is the only wireless solution for remote manageability for business. It enables IT to keep mission-critical resources running by establishing a secure connection between IT and an Intel^® vPro^® platform-based PC — even if these devices are inside or outside the firewall via the cloud, are connected via Wi-Fi or wired Ethernet, or have an inoperable OS.

The Intel^® Endpoint Management Assistant (Intel^® EMA) enables cloud-based manageability using simple web-based tools to connect with and remediate any Intel^® vPro^® platform-based PC.

Hardware-based Keyboard Video and Mouse (KVM) support

Remote monitoring and management (RMM) technologies help IT administrators and managed services providers (MSPs) remotely monitor PCs and provide proactive maintenance to improve PC reliability. But a truly effective RMM strategy requires a combination of hardware-based and software-based capabilities like those available with the Intel^® vPro^® platform.

The Intel^® vPro^® platform’s hardware-based KVM Over IP capability is built right into the PC and gives IT full control of the keyboard, video and mouse through the reboot and operating system reinstallations. IT administrators can instantly react to and recover faulty systems at any time and from anywhere — and without having to shoulder the high cost of doing a truck roll or sending a single technician to address the problem in person.

Even if the PC is not rebooting, IT can still remotely connect to and remediate the PC with full KVM support, as if they are in front of the device. They can also access the BIOS while maintaining the KVM connection, which gives IT the power to attend to urgent cases and even user-less devices like interactive kiosks or digital signage.

Remote power control

Using the Intel^® vPro^® platform, IT can automate after-hours patching on company PCs. Once the patching is complete, IT can put the computers to sleep to help keep energy costs down. IT can then wake up the PCs in the morning and get everything running before employees start work without disrupting productivity.

In the event of a cyberattack, Intel^® Active Management Technology lets IT remotely manage and repair systems simultaneously, even if they are dispersed across multiple locations. PCs can be recovered quickly, whether the PC is on premises or outside the firewall, via the cloud. Among the updated features of the 11th Gen Intel^® vPro^® platform is Intel^® Remote Secure Erase, which allows IT to remotely wipe data off Intel^® and third-party SSDs in Intel^® vPro^® platform-based PCs before disposal or reuse, reducing the risk of data theft in transit.

Better manageability means better cost savings

Better manageability and faster response times with the Intel^® vPro^® platform’s Intel^® Active Management Technology and Intel® Endpoint Management Assistant tools can result in substantial device management support cost savings and fewer help desk tickets.

A midmarket organisation with 800 employees that uses the Intel^® vPro^® platform can save an average of $46,000 in support costs per year, according to "The Total Economic Impact of the Intel^® vPro^® Platform: Spotlight on Midmarket Organizations", a 2021 Forrester Consulting report sponsored by Intel^®. Based on an average of 4,800 help desk incidents per year, the Intel^® vPro^® platform could provide a reduction of about 325 to 375 fewer help desk incidents related to IT device management and support. Help desk costs of $27 per hour would add up to an average of $20,000 in annual cost savings.

Even if a business outsources part of its IT support, it can still receive every benefit and feature of the Intel^® Active Management Technology. The Intel^® vPro^® platform gives IT the modern manageability tool it needs to manage, detect, protect and remediate device management — from provisioning to retirement — whether that device is on the other side of the world or the other side of the office.