Remote work enabled organizations to continue functioning during the pandemic, and it would be logical to assume that IT decision-makers must have papered over the cracks that the new paradigm introduced. However, lingering pain points, such as the expanding attack surface, a shortage of skilled IT professionals, and technological obsolescence that decision-makers had to deal with during the in-office period, continue to pose problems.
According to Gat Labs, three-quarters of knowledge workers were already inclinedOpens a new window towards remote work during the pre-pandemic period. The new paradigm helped them make the switch without having to change jobs, but they need plenty of IT support to function effectively, collaborate with people, and keep their devices and data secure.
IT decision-makers willing to invest to make hybrid work productive and efficient
To address these needs and to ensure that remote/hybrid work remains a boon rather than a barrier to success, IT decision-makers are investing in best-in-class enterprise solutions that enable round-the-clock IT monitoring and troubleshooting of remote devices, device and data security, and support the high-performance needs of remote workers.
For instance, a surveyOpens a new window of more than 600 IT decision-makers (ITDMs) conducted by Forrester and commissioned by Intel found that the top priority for 86% of those surveyed is to provide employees with extremely stable PCs to ensure business continuity, and for 78%, improving endpoint security is the top priority to keep remote devices and data safe from external threats. Nearly four in ten of those surveyed also want to purchase computing devices that reduce the IT burden.
IT decision-makers are also pulling out their wallets to ensure that these priorities come to fruition. According to the 2023 State of ITOpens a new window report from Spiceworks Ziff Davis, 51% of organizations would increase their IT budgets in 2023 despite a cloudy macroeconomic outlook and an overwhelming majority (83%) of companies are concerned about a recession in 2023.
It’s time for companies to adopt best-in-class PC management platforms to get started with their remote/hybrid work journeys
Higher IT budgets give IT managers the opportunity to onboard much-needed device management solutions that support high productivity and efficiency. These solutions allow IT to push the latest patches so remote devices can stay up-to-date and users can stay productive.
Here’s a look at how a built-for-business remote PC management solution, like Intel vPro® Enterprise for Windows OS, helps organizations keep remote devices safe from known and emerging cybersecurity threats.
How the Intel vPro® Platform Solves Security Concerns Associated With Dispersed Devices
According to the Spiceworks Ziff Davis reportOpens a new window , as many as 67% of IT services and 60% of financial services organizations would increase IT budgets in 2023, and cybersecurity is a major factor driving higher spending amid recession worries. While 51% of those surveyed want to enhance IT budgets to upgrade outdated IT infrastructure, 41% want to address increased security concerns, and 15% want higher IT budgets to cover recent security breaches. A recent security incident is roughly five times more likely to influence IT budget increases in enterprises (24%) than in small businesses (5%).
The survey also found that 59% of IT decision-makers at enterprise-scale businesses intend to turn to Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) to avail better tech and security expertise as hiring skilled IT workers is difficult. Enterprises are almost twice as likely to make IT purchases due to the need for better tech expertise compared to SMBs (19% vs. 11%).
Intel vPro® Enterprise for Windows OS, the latest version of which is powered by cutting-edge 12th Gen Intel® Core™ processors featuring Performance-cores and Efficient-cores, supports single-threaded and multi-threaded software environments. It features several key technologies that can help both enterprise-scale and midmarket organizations keep their hybrid workforce productive and secure.
Below are some of the key technologies in Intel vPro® Enterprise for Windows OS that are fine-tuned to meet the security and productivity requirements of today’s remote workforce:
Intel® Active Management Technology (Intel® AMT) gives IT complete access to devices built on Intel vPro from virtually anywhere, enabling support teams to remediate or repair PCs even when the OS is non-responsive or corrupted. IT can also automate many processes using Intel AMT, like setting power schedules and pushing patches to drivers and application software during off hours so as not to interrupt user productivity.
Intel® Endpoint Management Assistant (Intel® EMA) compliments the capabilities of Intel AMT with cloud features, and tools for easier deployment of Intel vPro devices. It allows IT to access remote PCs beyond the corporate firewall, meaning that support teams can use all the critical functionality of Intel AMT no matter where their users may be.
All the latest Windows PCs built on Intel vPro have Intel® Hardware Shield, a collection of hardware-assisted security capabilities that offer full-stack device protection against threats without burdening IT. This technology is active right out of the box and operates up-and-down the stack, so devices and users are better protected from security threats at the application level, the OS level, and the hardware level.
The Intel vPro platform can help enable cost savings
According to a Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) studyOpens a new window conducted by Forrester Consulting and commissioned by Intel, by adopting the Intel vPro platform, a mid-market organization with 800 PCs can avoid IT costs of $87,000 annually, gain employee productivity benefits of $25,000 per year, and see security-related incidents go down by 150 to 250 every year. Cost savings aside, users of the Intel vPro platform also reported significant cybersecurity improvements. The survey revealed that the percentage of organizations that rated themselves “relatively secure†or “very secure†two years ago has increased to 98% after investments made in the Intel vPro platform.
The TEI study also found that the patch saturation rate, the success rate of patches installed by the next patch cycle, also improved from 70% to 80% at mid-market organizations to between 90% and 95% after the Intel vPro platform was adopted. Users also reported that, on average, the platform could help avoid 5% of imaging failures and 3% of monthly patch failures, helping them save up to $20,000 annually.
As per the survey’s findings, the Intel vPro platform can help midmarket organizations save another $16,000 annually by freeing up essential IT staff and other personnel to shift an additional 8 hours per week to higher-value tasks. Improved employee effectiveness, resulting from reduced hardware-related delays, also accounted for savings of $25,000 per year.
Key security benefits delivered by the Intel vPro Platform
Effective endpoint security: As many as 88% of ITDMs at midmarket organizations (between 500 and 1,000 employees) said in the TEI survey that the Intel vPro platform helped them reduce endpoint-security support tickets, take advantage of new hardware-based security features, and improve their overall security position. They also assessed that 77% of the total enabled security benefits at the organizations were due to adopting the platform’s management and security tools and features.
User satisfaction: According to the TEI survey, as many as 98% of ITDMs at midmarket organizations that use the Intel vPro platform now rate their organizations “relatively secure†or “very secure.†The percentage of such ITDMs was a low 81% before their organizations invested in the platform.
Efficient disaster and emergency response: An organization’s ability to respond quickly to the needs of remote workers is essential to keep operations running. The Intel vPro platform has helped reinforce this ability, with 99% of respondents in the TEI survey stating that the platform enabled them to respond to employee needs more quickly after quarantine, meaning disaster response would have taken longer otherwise.
Conclusion
An all-in-one remote PC management platform like Intel vPro® Enterprise for Windows OS is purpose-built to support today’s hybrid workforce that seeks to retain performance and productivity regardless of location. It addresses IT decision-makers’ most pressing concerns like sophisticated security threats, the performance of remote devices, and costs associated with supporting a widely-dispersed workforce.
Intel vPro features an unrivaled combination of above and below the OS security capabilities, app and data protections, and advanced threat protections. It is a product of Intel’s security first approach to product design, manufacture, and support. All business PCs built on the Intel vPro platform have been validated against rigorous specifications, including unique hardware-based security features.
With solutions like these, organizations will be better prepared for the rigors of business, regardless of future uncertainties or difficult economic scenarios.
For more information about the performance and capabilities of Intel vPro® Enterprise for Windows OS, click hereOpens a new window .
More on Remote PC Management from Intel
- 4 Reasons to Prioritize Remote Manageability and Endpoint Security in the Hybrid Work EraOpens a new window
- 4 Essentials for IT Pros to Manage Hybrid Workplace Challenges in 2022 and BeyondOpens a new window
- How to Ace User and IT Remote Work Productivity With Thin & Light DevicesOpens a new window
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