Intel vPro Expert Center Blog

To Chuck or Not To Chuck that Old Computer…

scott1.e.smith@intel.com — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:39:34 GMT

You’re a small businessperson, and the office computer guy (who actually knows nothing about computers, but was selected because he successfully hooked up a game console to his TV last Christmas) tells you that two of your 10 office PCs are down with viruses or “something,” bringing a halt to a customer proposal that’s on deadline. Two others in accounting keep pausing long enough for workers to take coffee breaks while the systems mull over their keystrokes, pushing the billing process into overtime. Revenue is at a standstill.

“What are my options?” you ask. “We could maybe buy some stuff to upgrade them, and call in a computer repair service,” the computer guy shrugs. Buying new computers in the economic downturn seems a questionable call. The computers are only three or four years old and likely you could get another year or two out of them.

Nonetheless, while you’re small, these decisions aren’t just about survival and cutting back spending. They’re about remaining competitive and having an edge when the Dow Jones climbs for real. And the business doesn’t run without computers. So, what do you tell your computer guy?

OK, I’m an Intel PR guy, so you know where this is going. Nonetheless, bare with me for a bit and there might be some ROI. Rob Crooke, VP for Intel’s Business Client Group, recently tackled some of the key questions around this dilemma in conjunction with a press briefing on a new study by Techaisle. The study looks at the financial aspects of maintaining computers for SMBs.

Here’s what the Techaisle study says: The average maintenance cost for a small business on a computer that’s more than three years old is $545. On the average, that includes $326 for maintenance, $99 for those upgrades you’re considering and $120 for out-of-warranty service costs. If you bought the extended warranty, reduce the latter. If you buy a new computer, the maintenance cost drops to $126, the first-year maintenance cost from a study by Jack Gold (Techaisle doesn’t provide a first-year cost.) So, the difference is $419.

“Yeah, sure,” you say, “but I have to buy a new computer!” Yes, but let’s see how that $419 might cut the pain. PDS has Intel Core2 Duo-based desktop PCs starting at $540 and CDW offers notebooks beginning at $700. If you add Intel vPro for additional manageability and security, you could move up for $699 and $830, respectively. So, you can buy the new desktop system for as low as $121, a 15-month payback. Now, if you’re larger than small, say 50-100 employees, you can see from the chart below that the payback is less than a year, and will actually make you a $40 profit. OK, OK, I’m a PR guy, but cut me some slack. I’m not making up the numbers.

Now that’s just the hard dollars that Techaisle captured. A new PC can have other benefits – reduced downtime from viruses, improved energy efficiency and enhanced productivity to name a few. So, maybe investing a few dollars could save you money in the slightly longer run and possibly help you keep your revenue flowing.

For more information, you might want to look at the Techaisle study. For a quicker overview check out the fact sheet and white paper, or better see the media briefing with Rob Crooke, ASUSTeK and Gigabyte.

PC Refresh Costs - Penny Wise?

scott1.e.smith@intel.com — Tue, 05 May 2009 20:10:36 GMT

Intel recently commissioned a study, conducted by Wipro Product Strategy and Services, that analyzed the costs of refreshing business PC fleets. Wipro interviewed CIOs and IT professionals from 106 companies in the U.S., United Kingdom and Germany on many different aspects of the refresh equation, but three stood out as the most important to businesses – security, cost reduction and payback period.

Security is a big concern for businesses these days and their angst appears to be well founded. According to the study, by the time a PC is four years old, security incidents have increased 52 percent from when it was new. You don’t want to even peek at the data about what happens after that.

Software-based attacks, viruses and other threats continue to grow, of course, and that's the reason Intel has focused so much attention on incorporating new ways to defend against these attacks into its platforms. The 3X performance increase in the latest Intel Core2 processors help to keep antivirus software, patches and encryption from bogging down the system. A host of features incorporated into Intel vPro technology have been aimed across the board at the points of vulnerability to protect applications, the platform and the network.

The big question keeping CFOs and CIOs awake at night revolves around how often to buy new PCs. If we could only get by for one more year…. The study found that operational costs of four-year-old PCs can be reduced up to 52 percent for laptops and 46 percent for desktops by purchasing new systems. In addition to rising maintenance costs, year four also is typically when warranties have expired and companies begin picking up the repair tab.

To make the data more meaningful, Wipro used the data from the companies polled to create a “model company.” The model company has 11,500 mobile PCs and 19,300 desktop computers at various ages. For the first three years, acquisition and maintenance costs decline, but going into year four they begin to rise at a steepening rate. The data shows that if the model company replaces its PCs at three years it saves $3 million versus holding off for just one more year. The study also found that costs could be reduced another $3 million with vPro technology. Wipro also determined that the model company would recoup its investment in 17 months by just purchasing new computers, but would it get its investment back in 10 months with vPro technology-based systems even with a $150 premium for the systems.

OK, I can feel the doubters – the study is by a reputable research company and appears objective, but it was commissioned by Intel…and it’s a PR guy interpreting it. So, let’s get away from empirical evaluation and hear from someone whose business strategy reflects the results of the study to see how he’s faring. Terry Jocelyn is president of Western Blue, a Northern California-based service and solution provider for more than 20 years. Western Blue is implementing laptops and desktop systems based on Intel Core2 processors and vPro technology. I had a chance to talk with him recently about how PC refresh and vPro technology worked into his business strategy and benefited his customers.

Video Testimonials from Fortune 1000 IT Managers on the Security Benefits of Intel vPro Technology

justin.van.buren@intel.com — Mon, 04 May 2009 21:03:02 GMT

While at Symantec ManageFusion 2009, we had a chance to talk to IT executives and managers from Disney International, Fox Interactive Media, Blue Cross Blue Shield and McCormick Spice Company and industry analysts from Enterprise Management Associates and Ptak, Noel & Associates LLC. In this video, they talk about the security benefits of Intel vPro technology - which include the ability to deploy software patches faster into the installed PC base, and the ability to quarantine infected PCs and remotely remediate them.

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

IT and Analyst Testimonials: TCO Considerations for PC Refresh and Intel vPro Technology

justin.van.buren@intel.com — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 17:26:57 GMT

While at Symantec ManageFusion 2009, we had a chance to talk to IT executives and managers from Disney International, Fox Interactive Media, Blue Cross Blue Shield, 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 how PC refresh and Intel vPro technology helps minimize total cost of ownership.

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

Highlights of Gregory Bryant (Intel VP) in the opening Symantec ManageFusion 2009 keynote

justin.van.buren@intel.com — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 16:57:30 GMT

On May 10th, Intel Vice-President Gregory Bryant was part of the opening ManageFusion keynote led by Symantec's Steve Morton.

Gregory talked about how customers are realizing value today with Intel vPro technology and getting a return on investment that pays for itself in less than one year. He also talked about new Intel vPro technology product developments with Altiris Client Management Suite Version 7 and Symantec Workspace Streaming. View the highlights below or click here to see the full keynote.

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