Intel vPro Expert Center Blog

What Rock Star is Intel® vPro™ Technology?

justin.van.buren@intel.com — Mon, 04 May 2009 23:22:25 GMT

While at Symantec ManageFusion 2009 from March 10th to 12th, we had a chance to talk to IT executives and managers, Intel partners and industry analysts who were all familiar with the capabilities of Intel vPro technology. In this video, they discuss what Rock Star or what type of music Intel vPro Technology could be ...

To learn more about Intel's presence at Symantec ManageFusion 2009, go to: http://www.intel.com/go/managefusion/

Video Demo of Incendio vMinder Portal: Operational Integration of Intel® vPro™ Technology

justin.van.buren@intel.com — Mon, 04 May 2009 21:19:38 GMT

While at Symantec ManageFusion 2009, we had a chance to talk with Mike Dunham, Executive Director of Product Management for Incendio Technology. In the video below, he talks about the Incendio vMinder Portal, which allows IT profrossional to utilize the Symantec Altiris Client Management Suite without needing console access. From the Incendio vMinder Portal, the IT professional can access Intel vPro technology features such as reliable remote power control that are part of the Symantec Altiris Client Management Suite.

To learn more about Intel's presence at Symantec ManageFusion 2009, go to: http://www.intel.com/go/managefusion/

Video Testimonials from IT Managers on Symantec Altiris Client Management Suite with Intel vPro Technology

justin.van.buren@intel.com — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 01:54:04 GMT

While at Symantec ManageFusion 2009, we had a chance to talk to IT executives and managers from Las Vegas Sands Corporation, Blue Cross Blue Shield and McCormick Spice Company and Lee Bender, senior technical manager from Symantec. In this video, they talk about benefits of Symantec Altiris Client Management Suite v6.5 (and above) with Intel vPro Technology, including power management, remote diagnosis and repair, and fast call for help.

To learn more about Intel's presence at Symantec ManageFusion 2009, go to: http://www.intel.com/go/managefusion/

Enterprise testimonials: Reduce Power Consumption with Intel vPro Technology

justin.van.buren@intel.com — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 17:22:10 GMT

While at Symantec ManageFusion 2009, we had a chance to talk to IT executives and managers from Disney International, Fox Interactive Media, Las Vegas Sands Corporation and McCormick Spice Company and industry analysts from IDC, Enterprise Management Associates and Ptak, Noel & Associates LLC about Intel vPro technology and industry trends. In the video below, they discuss the impact of Intel vPro technology on power consumption reduction and energy cost reduction.

To learn more about Intel's presence at Symantec ManageFusion 2009, go to: http://www.intel.com/go/managefusion/

Videos showcasing how Intel® Anti-Theft Technology works

justin.van.buren@intel.com — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 07:50:13 GMT

Last month, Intel introduced Intel® Anti-Theft Technology with support from Lenovo and Absolute Software.

There are various use models that this new technology enables, such as:

The ability to disable a lost notebook PC and the data on the hard drive even if it never connects to the network (based on IT policy)
The ability to send a "poison pill" so that the notebook PC is disabled, along with the data on the hard drive, if the notebook PC is connected to the internet
The ability to re-activate the notebook PC if it is found again

Watch the following Intel Anti-Theft Technology demo with Intel executives Dadi Perlmutter and Pat Gelsinger from Fall IDF 2008 and learn more about how this new technology helps with theft deterrance.

For a more in-depth demonstration of Intel Anti-Theft Technology with Absolute Software, watch the following video:

Listen to industry analysts discuss benefits of Intel Anti-Theft Technology and why this technology is an important milestone that will help with notebook PC theft deterrence in the future.

Listen to a Lenovo executive discuss the benefits that Intel Anti-Theft Technology will bring to Lenovo based notebook PCs.

Listen to Absolute executives discuss how they are taking advantage of Intel Anti-Theft Technology in their software and services.

Last, listen to Intel's Anand Pashupathy, George Thangadurai and Duncan Glendinning comment on the benefits of the new technology.

Another Add, here's Josh Hilliker talking about Anti-Theft Technology @ the beach.

IDF Class - Activation, Integration & the Expert Center

josh.hilliker@intel.com — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:26:53 GMT

Yesterday Jeff Marek, Big Dave & I taught a class on the value of vPro, Intel IT's experience and more on tools. Here's a quick link to the presentation.

http://intel.wingateweb.com/US08/published/sessions/PROS005/SF08_PROS005_100t.pdf

If you attended yesterday's session please let us know if you have questions, comments, etc. .

Miss our show yesterday with IT@Intel? Listen to it here & now...

kelsey.e.witherow@intel.com — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 21:59:05 GMT

Listen in as your hosts talk with Dave McCray, Intel's IT Program Manager. Intel IT is a leader in the activation and use of AMT. They have activated & provisioned over 10k machines - hear how they did it, why they are doing it & how to make your integration better based on Intel IT's best known methods.

Stream from blogtalkradio or click play below to hear it now...

New ROI Tool and Study for Intel Centrino with vPro technology

justin.van.buren@intel.com — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 19:37:01 GMT

With the launch of Intel Centrino with vPro technology - several medium to large customers (with 1000 or more PCs in the infrastructure) have asked for Intel's help with building the financial business case for the new technology. Given this need, Intel asked WiPro to survey senior IT managers from 41 companies about current notebook PC management costs that could potentially be reduced by taking advantage of the new technology. WiPro specifically focused on PC maintenance costs that IT usually budgets for on an annual basis (these are "hard dollar costs", such as help desk calls, help desk visits (especially for hardware and software malfunctions - such as OS blue screens and hard drive failures), auditing, security incidents, software patch deployment costs, major application (such as Office) deployment costs into the infrastructure, etc.).

WiPro's findings are as follows:

Estimated hard dollar savings of up to ~$140 / PC / year with Intel Centrino with vPro technology vs. the mobile PC in the installed PC base today
Reduces the need for hardware-related desk-side visits by as much as 58% and for software-related desk-side visits by as much as 57%
Up to 51% faster patch saturation per incident and reduces number of inventory failures by 62%
Enterprises can take advantage of most of the Intel Centrino with vPro technology features (including remote diagnosis and repair) in the mobile PC form factor for about 16 hours a day (the other 8 hours, on average, the mobile PC is asleep or off-line, and an IT manager cannot use the Intel vPro technology features)

For those interested in the report, please read about it here: http://www.intel.com/business/business-pc/roi/centrinoprowhitepaper.pdf

In order to help customers model the "hard dollar" savings in your environment, Intel has created the Intel Centrino with vPro technology and Intel Core2 with vPro technology ROI Estimator that is based on the data from the above study, as well as another study that focused on desktops with Intel Core2 with vPro technology that was published last year. This ROI Estimator is located here: http://www.intel.com/business/business-pc/roi/demo.htm

To learn more about the ROI Estimator and the desktop and mobile PC studies, please listen to Josh, me and WiPro talk about them in this PodTech videocast: http://www.podtech.net/home/4679/roi-intel-vpro-technology-in-the-enterprise

Cheers -

Justin Van Buren

Intel Business Marketing Manager

How do you go for the WIN with your IT peers? - Moving the Yard Stick in Tech Adoption

josh.hilliker@intel.com — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:56:55 GMT

This week I was reflecting on my IT journey in the last few years and how I successfully adopted new technology. I thought that sharing this type of information may be helpful to those out there that are either about to start or in the middle of their integration of Intel® vPro™ Technology. First things first, here’s an illustration of the different camps within an IT shop (architecture, engineering, operations, finance, security) and then of course there is the leadership (mgmt) that provides air cover for such new adoptions / also a key stakeholder in the success.

For each of these camps there is a different perspective and frames of reference, therefore let me dive into each one.

ARCHITECTURE: for the architect community, the requirement is to understand their 3-5 year roadmap and how a new client technology fits in - does it violate any major design rules, does it embrace the technology strategy?. Specifically the focus is around conceptual and reference architecture with focus on high level themes i.e. Compliance, Provisioning, Remediation, Automation, Virtualization. The vantage point here is looking at the big picture and being able to define it in relationship to the rest of the architecture. This includes the BDAT model as well (business, data, applications and technology), focus is around the business process changes, data architecture changes with respect to where data is being stored, retained, transmitted, etc.. Applications are all about the application architecture requirements and potentially any changes to the high level picture.

ENGINEERING: for engineering it’s all about the connection points, ports, protocol’s, access rights. What I find very compelling in this realm is that the dialogue is around AS IS and TO BE solution architecture with heavy reference to the BDAT model output. How does it specifically fit in w/ the rest of the pieces, what is the traffic pattern, what is the fault tolerance, how does it reuse the pieces of infrastructure already in place, how does each level of the support stack manage their respective pieces without breaking the separation of duties requirements, scaling out ramifications.

OPERATIONS: for operations it all about what is the process change, realization of the value and how does it all work. As you dig in more in this area it is about the 1-x process steps required, there is a heavier view on automation of remedial tasks, there is focus on ownership of problems, reliability of the solution, SLA’s, OLA’s (operational level agreements). The dialogue for operations is about the minutes it takes to operate a given function, the time to execute, back out, re provision, etc.. This is where the business process understanding and changes are the most critical as they are truly tested in live production scenarios

FINANCE: for finance, it’s a few things that I think are important to know, it’s not all about the ROI & TCO, however that is about 90% of it. The other 10% is primarily focused on how this solution would enable company objectives, goals and vision. They are also the keepers of the value (from Headcount, costs, impact, including how to verbalize) when it’s all said and done, as they play the role in delivering a projected vs. actual account of the events, therefore their keen involvement and insight is important. An Enlisted finance manager can make a world of difference.

SECURITY: I initially did not draw in security & then went back to add this into the picture above. Why you ask? Well, years back security was an afterthought, however Ever since the Code Red/Nimda/SQL Slammer days – they’ve had a pretty strong foothold in decisions within IT – especially in evaluating new technologies… They have to ensure that the ‘last mile’ is covered in the enterprise, 1 box can wreak havoc on the network, etc. What this means is that it’s all about CIA (Confidentiality, Availability & Integrity), therefore diving into the technology & understanding the RISK is the key part here (specifically the Risk Assessment).

LEADERSHIP/MANAGEMENT: the focus here is around not just being an “approver” but to also being a champion for the new technology. The goal is to have them very aware & equally as passionate as the adopter of the technology. If you can drive this passion from the top the air cover is significant in removing roadblocks that may arise.

So is one more important than the other? No, they are all critical for full adoption, however I will highlight that the message crafted towards the leadership team is critical.

Does a small/medium IT shops have these same challenges? I think so, they are just differing in size of the work required . for example in a small business the IT director may be participating in arch-eng-ops type of roles and rolling out the technology, where as in large enterprises these may be broken out over different people and groups.

So.. how do you go for the WIN?

My past has taught me that if I can understand the differing roles, what is needed to satisfy their requirements, the process is smoother (not perfect). I have also realized that sometimes even in IT you have to put on a marketing’ish type of role to help push the adoption along, whether it’s brown bag lunch meetings to show off the technology or just asking the Sr. Exec to join you in the data center for a hands on demo. In every case of new technology I’ve enlisted a team of passionate peers that see the vision and then together we tackle the key area’s as a team, while also diffusing that passion to others.

I’d like to share some examples of each area if there is interest in the community, specifically focused around Intel® vPro™ Technology. please comment back and then I will attach examples for each..

Also. What have I missed? What key questions do you think need to get answered for a “WIN”.

Intel's first ever rock videos - "Everything has Changed"

evan.leftwich@mrmworldwide.com — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 22:53:00 GMT

Christopher Guest directed two music videos about Intel's vPro and Centrino Pro processor technology. Check it out, what do you think?

Intel's first ever rock videos - "Set I.T. Managers Free"

evan.leftwich@mrmworldwide.com — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 23:56:00 GMT

Intel got Christopher Guest (Spinal Tap) to direct music videos about Intel

vPro

and Intel

Centrino Pro

processor technology. Check them out, see what you think.

IT Administrator's Top 3 manageability challenges: A reality check

ajay.mungara@intel.com — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 17:09:00 GMT

When we ask an IT administrator what their top manageability challenges they face everyday, they always respond with "Users" or "something in between the computer and the chair"... and then go on to tell us their other manageability challenges that can actually be solved. From our research, here is a list of the top 3 Manageability concerns that keeps an IT Administrators up at night. The list is not necessarily in any order of priority.

More accurate and easier hardware and software inventories
Less costly and easier remote repairs
Create a more secure environment

Quicker detection and containment of virus activity and more tamper resistant virus protection
Faster and less intrusive out-of-band security patches

Intel is basing a lot of design decisions & creating product requirements based on the above list. Do you agree that these are really your top 3 manageability issues? And, I am very curious to know what is your fourth?