IT@Intel Client Blog

Solid State Drives - The Biggest Change to Mobile Computing Since Wireless

alan.d.ross@intel.com — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:19:06 GMT

Hello,

I wanted to take a minute to talk about solid state drives and the impact they have had on my mobile computing experience but we put together this video which does a better job than I can do in words alone. Enjoy!

Does Thin = Cloud? Not necessarily

catherine.spence@intel.com — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 21:33:03 GMT

In a recent TechRepublic article, Jason Hiner asks: Are Netbooks quietly driving us to Thin Clients and Cloud Computing?

Of course, the article is primarily about netbooks and how wonderful they are. No argument here. But the question of thin versus cloud has popped up in an interesting way. Thin is important because of the nature of the netbook but what does that have to do with cloud computing? Not all cloud applications are thin.

Perhaps the logic is as follows:

If cloud then we are delivering services over the internet
If internet then we must be using a browser
If browser then the computing must be taking place in the backend with only the UI distributed to the client device
Therefore all cloud devices must be thin

So what about rich clients? We happen to think that they are perfectly suited to cloud computing. Maybe our latest whitepaper on Better Together: Rich Clients and Cloud Computing can help set the record straight – or at least prompt some alternate thinking.

Cloud & Consumerization

catherine.spence@intel.com — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 16:57:07 GMT

As we abstract IT services and increase the use of SaaS and Cloud Computing, we contend with the force of consumerization. We are seeing a fundamental shift from enterprise focus to internet; and a shift from standardized offerings to user selection and personalization in choice of applications and client devices.

How can we improve agility and manage emerging complexity while balancing quality of service with innovation for different types of applications? For some, large scale abstraction leads to efficiencies for commoditized functions, whether they are hosted in house or outsourced. Other applications benefit from a more ad-hoc approach and might be more easily sourced from the cloud. IT will not be successful if we too tightly control services. Instead we must create a framework for our users to make smart choices.

Security versus Productivity Results

catherine.spence@intel.com — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:24:51 GMT

Collaborative Argumentation Study

In this project, Intel Information Technology and MIT studied web-based social media as a tool for understanding collective intelligence and distributed decision-making. The useful question we posed was "What are good ways to balance the potential productivity advantages of open collaborative computing versus the data security needs of the organization?"

Over the three week period we generated 73 author accounts, with 51 from outside Intel. The users contributed 64 certified posts, with 40 from outside Intel. Twenty five ratings were collected. Our resulting deliberation map was well structured and remarkably complete.

What did we learn?

First and foremost, we validated that there is good potential in the combination of social media and argumentation. Social media gives us ability to host large scale discussions with a vast number of diverse users over the internet. It enables us to readily combine discussions that are internal and external to Intel, if desired.

One of the biggest benefits of Deliberatorium was the ease of generating the argument map. The "moderate-as-you-go" approach saved a great deal of time during the post-processing of the data collected. This was especially important as the number of users and topics scaled. The compact format was useful to reduce complexity and helped "make sense" of threaded discussions (conversations) characterized by other tools. It also provided an artifact that can be used for later data mining or as a historical record of the project.

Based on this effort, we have decided that the argumentation capability is an important overlay for social computing tools. In the future we want to find and link all related content regardless of the source: web, wiki, etc. The key is flexible input with robust analytics and reporting to get better output.

Thank you for participating

Thanks to everyone who participated in our study, especially our top contributors: Luca, Ultimo15, Adam, and Lfriedl. Inside Intel, thanks to our most active contributors: Chris Wisehart, Guillermo Rueda, and Matt Rosenquist.

For more information

Klein, Mark and Iandoli, Luca,Supporting Collaborative Deliberation Using a Large-Scale Argumentation System: The Mit Collaboratorium(February 20, 2008). MIT Sloan Research Paper No. 4691-08. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1099082

Visit the MIT Deliberatorium Tool

Deadline Extended: Security versus Productivity

catherine.spence@intel.com — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 17:02:55 GMT

Intel Information Technology and MIT are studying web-based social media as a tool for understanding collective intelligence and distributed decision-making. The useful question we have posed is "What are good ways to balance the potential productivity advantages of open collaborative computing versus the data security needs of the organization?"

In order to maximize our analysis of the discussion results and MIT Deliberatorium tool, we are extending the deadline to October 6, 2008.

Please take five minutes to add one new post to the discussion and to rate one other person's contribution. This will enable us to gather a wider range of opinions on the topic and further investigate the value of the approach.

Add a Post	Rate a Contribution
Click on the "add" button located to the right of any item in the map. A dialog box will pop up. Enter your post and then click "submit" to save your entry.	Click on any item in the map that you want to rate. A description of the item will appear in the right panel. Click on one of the stars to select your rating.

Top contributors to the discussion will be recognized when we post our final project results.

For More Information watch the ten minute video clip for a concise overview. Contact Catherine.Spence@intel.com with any questions.

Thank you for your continued participation!

Great Debate: Security versus Productivity

catherine.spence@intel.com — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 14:17:33 GMT

Background

Traditional corporate information is stored in highly secure repositories within enterprise boundaries. New forms of data are being created in emerging mediums such as blogs and wikis. Cloud computing and network-based systems offer new venues for processing and storage.

The Big Question

What are good ways to balance the potential productivity advantages of open collaborative computing versus the data security needs of the organization? Consider several examples:

Does having access to social media make you more productive? Is it secure?
Is having access to raw corporate data more productive than secure, specialized tools?
Does IT need more control or less? What new tools and/or methods are required, supporting a more open environment?

These questions may never see wide consensus and the decision is crucial to every CIO. We will use your feedback for IT analysis.

Make Your Opinion Heard

Become one of the first to test MIT's new collective intelligence tool called Deliberatorium. Join the fun in two simple steps:

1. Create your account and log in to the MIT Deliberatorium

2. Add your perspective to the discussion

View, rate or comment other author's posts using pros & cons
Add your own ideas for new solutions and issues

This discussion topic will be available until September 29, 2008, and then results will be shared on Intel.com. Feel free to forward this invite to any interested parties.

It's Cool to Argue

Research shows that a large group of diverse individuals tends to get the right answer because they bring different perspectives into the discussion. Help Intel and MIT learn more by participating in this web-based argument.

For More Information

Watch the ten minute video clip for a concise overview.

Video: Application Streaming in a Nutshell

catherine.spence@intel.com — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 15:23:14 GMT

In this brief video clip, Intel Systems Engineer Christian Black illustrates the concept of application streaming used with virtualization. He provides an overview of how it works and reviews the benefits for users and administrators.

Challenges in remote management in the Intel training rooms

david.mccray@intel.com — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:00:54 GMT

Our very own Randy Nystrom discusses the challenges of managing remote PC in the Intel IT training rooms. With Intel® vPro^TM technology he can remotely power on PCs, install OS or application software, and debug any PC problems, regardless of the state of the PC! Watch as he explains the challenges he faces in effectively managing the devices in the 77 training centers around the world. Randy's training rooms have been an outstanding test bed for the Intel vPro implementation since he faces many of the same issues as the larger environment but in a controlled environment.

Virtualizing the Client PC – A Proof of Concept

john.dunlop@intel.com — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 23:23:29 GMT

We've just released a white paper on a recent client desktop virtualization proof of concept study conducted by Intel IT. A primary objective of the study was to demonstrate that cost, complexity, and cycle time could be reduced through virtualization of the software components (operating system and applications) by decoupling them from the hardware platform. In the usage model that was evaluated, a virtualized IT build image was created and provisioned via DVD or a USB storage device to out-of-the-box personal computers from different OEMs.

Our conclusion was that PC client virtualization can deliver on the business value we identified, but for reasons cited in the paper including usability and security challenges, we are presently unable to move forward with the full usage model within our corporation.

Has anyone deployed a similar enterprise level hosted PC virtualization model with success? I'm very interested to hear where you believe the compelling business value to be in client virtualization, the challenges you have encountered, and how you may have overcome those challenges.

John

IT Training cost savings using Intel vPro technology

david.mccray@intel.com — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 22:52:22 GMT

Intel IT Systems Engineer Randy Nystrom discusses cost savings for computer support in the Intel IT training rooms. He was one of our first test beds when we got vPro technologies implemented in the production environment. He demostrates how he can increase after hours training room support, decrease technician usage time, decrease mean time to repair (MTTR), and reduce costs by using Intel® vPro^TM technology!

Take a look and see how he is saving Intel money and how vPro technologies has given him his first good nights rest in years.

Anybody out there have other cool tales of how vPro has improved thier lives?

SaaS - Software as a Service - Client Implications

catherine.spence@intel.com — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:59:45 GMT

Information Week recently released an excellent Special Report on Software as a Service (SaaS). A poll of 374 business technology professionals showed that 50% of organizations are considering or running one or more enterprise applications over the Internet as a service. I actually participated in the survey and you can probably guess which quote is mine in the “Our Readers Weigh In” section of the article.

The analysis goes on to conclude that SaaS is maturing and becoming part of enterprise IT strategy. The recommendation is that “SaaS should be looked at as just one more delivery method that may or may not fit your specific organization’s need.” How true!

If you take the standpoint of an individual client system, services can be delivered to it in an increasing number of ways. The service can come from the Internet cloud or from within the Enterprise. The application processing can take place on the client or be hosted on a server somewhere. It might run within a virtual machine or natively within an OS. The client GUI might be installed locally or streamed or hosted with a web interface. The service could be mashed up or self contained. With all of these evolving service delivery mechanisms and options, it will be interesting to see how we arrive at the correct balance at the client.

One Size Fits All

catherine.spence@intel.com — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 21:35:16 GMT

According to Dictionary.com “one size fits all” is an adjective that means “acceptable or used for a wide variety of purposes or circumstances; appealing or suitable to a variety of tastes.” In IT, we have used this approach for how we deliver client systems to users. We pick a few key hardware platforms and create OS builds that meet security requirements and contain a base level of software applications. Users take delivery of new systems and then customize from there with various configuration settings and specific software needed for their jobs. The “one size fits all” model has worked pretty well over the years. It has been a highly successful way for IT to mass produce systems and support users in a standard way.

The world is changing. The number of available choices in hardware platforms is significantly increasing, ranging from desktops to portables to blade client to smart phones. Users are becoming increasingly aware of the choices and want to participate in the decision over what devices are best suited to their work style. In some cases, they want to use different devices simultaneously (for example, a smartphone and a laptop). In terms of software applications, new computing models are emerging to respond to the complexity. IT does not want to create new applications for each kind of device introduced in the environment. A major challenge will be to consolidate backend infrastructure and provide a common user experience across the spectrum of client hardware platforms, not to mention all of the issues related to security and IT governance. We must embrace these challenges because the days of “one size fits all” client hardware are numbered.

Virtual Hosted Desktops: Too much of a good thing?

catherine.spence@intel.com — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 15:54:54 GMT

A recent article in Information Week discusses how Credit Suisse has been very successful implementing virtualization in the data center and how they view the desktop as the next area of opportunity. By virtualizing desktops and bringing them into the data center, Credit Suisse hopes gain the ability to quickly re-provision desktops in response to changing user needs. But at what cost?

Depending on how many users Credit Suisse has, this means moving the processing from thousands of independent computing elements into the data center. Out in the enterprise, power and cooling is abundant and there is no issue with rack space. Perhaps they have ample space in their data centers.

What about user experience? There is something to be said about moving the processing as local to the user as possible. Some applications lend themselves to be hosted centrally and accessed via a browser or portal interface. Other applications including multimedia, unified communications and complex user interfaces are better served at the endpoint device to enable the best responsiveness and/or mobility.

Virtualization is a great technology and it definitely creates new possibilities in terms of OS and application portability. This might be the right solution for Credit Suisse, given their user needs, sets of applications and data center configurations. Who can blame them for wanting to build on their past success. However, there is a bigger picture to consider the correct balance of computing models for particular usage models.

Software On-Demand Case Study

catherine.spence@intel.com — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 18:41:39 GMT

A Proof-of-Concept (POC) conducted by Intel IT evaluated OS and application streaming in call center and manufacturing environments. The four-part study included performance, usability, IT support and cost. The POC successfully identified streaming as a novel, feasible technology in the tested scenarios. The biggest benefits were related to locking down the client, improving security and eliminating service calls. Challenges were encountered related to the learning curve and software maturity of application packaging and troubleshooting.

A technical brief is available for downloading:

Software On Demand: OS/Application Streaming Client Study

Could Streaming Apps run faster than traditionally installed?

catherine.spence@intel.com — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:02:58 GMT

It seems counter-intuitive to think that applications streamed over the network could run faster than the same applications installed locally. If the circumstances are right, it could happen!

Here is a Systems Manufacturing example. We ran a series of key tasks across a variety of configurations to collect performance metrics. Our script opened a work order in our ERP system, created packaging labels using a bar code generation program, looked up label part numbers for our product bill of materials and ran work order activity reports in three custom web-based applications.

Our baseline was a Pentium 4 desktop system (3.0 GHz). Our trial system was a Celeron 215 desktop system (1.33 GHz). Both had 1 GB RAM. The baseline system had applications installed locally on its hard drive. Applications and the OS were delivered to the trial system via streaming. Throughput time of our script on baseline system was 6 minutes 15 seconds. The same script executed on the trial system for 2 minutes and 45 seconds.

Two things come to mind to explain the difference. First, our script contained a good mix of local and remote processing to maximize our trial processor. Second, the nature of the computing model provides explanation. Applications are broken up into execution blocks so we only need to load and execute the portion of the application that we need. Further, since virtualization was used in conjunction with the application streaming, the virtual software layer makes things like registry settings easier and faster to access.