Cs intel vpro

Case StudyIntel® vPro™ Technology

IT Authorities

IT Authorities has built its success as a managed service provider on continuous improvement of both processes and tools. In the managed services arena, change is constant and yields both threats and opportunities — but no room to stand still. “Every one of our 22 employees believes that they will be a little bit better tomorrow than they were today,” says Tom Beckman, chief technology officer at IT Authorities. “You’ve got to approach the managed services business that way if you’re going to grow and remain competitive.” This approach to growth led IT Authorities to adopt Intel® vPro™ technology-based HP desktop and laptop PCs as a standard part of their solution. By managing these advanced platforms through their N-able N-central* management console software, the company has been able to significantly cut the cost of delivering services while at the same time significantly improving their customers’ IT experience.

“vPro-based HP PCs offer new ways to connect to our customers’ PCs, new ways to troubleshoot, and new ways to remediate,” explains Doug Garrett, director of managed services for IT Authorities. “These are significant advantages. In addition, they’re advantages that can eventually be made standard across all our customers, regardless of the PC brand or location.” As a result, IT Authorities has made Intel vPro technology-based PCs their standard and preferred platform. “The cost addition for a vPro system is only $20, which is inconsequential compared to the ROI for the customer,” says Beckman. “Every PC we quote is now a vPro-based machine.”

A Strategy of Continuous Improvement Leads IT Authorities to Adopt Intel® vPro™ Technology Advanced PC Management Capabilities Help MSP’s Customers Do More, Spend Smarter, and be More Secure

“Managing 5,000 PCs at

one company is infinitely

simpler than managing

5,000 machines at 100

companies. So for an

MSP, efficiency and

simplification are critical.

Intel vPro technology

extends our reach and

makes many activities

simpler.”

– Tom Beckman, CTO, IT Authorities

Advanced Tools Cut Costs and Improve Customer Service LevelsThe advanced manageability and security features of Intel vPro technology allow IT Authorities to significantly streamline a number of key PC management tasks within their existing management console software. This both reduces their cost and helps eliminate downtime and interruptions for PC users. The power of this solution has three elements:

• Increased abilities to monitor, manage, and repair PCs remotely — regardless of power state or operating system health1 — that greatly reduce maintenance and management costs and increase the utilization of IT Authorities’ personnel.

• Increased security capabilities that better protect the customer’s critical data while reducing downtime.

• A standardized, energy-efficient platform that can meet the developing demands of the customer’s business while significantly reducing total cost of ownership (TCO).

These capabilities give IT Authorities considerable advantages. “Managing 5,000 PCs at one company is infinitely simpler than managing 5,000 machines at 100 companies,” explains Beckman. “So for an MSP, efficiency and simplification are critical. Intel vPro technology extends our reach and makes many activities simpler.”

“We can now re-image and rebuild a machine

remotely – which means the turnaround time

has gone from two days to ten minutes.”

– Tom Beckman, CTO, IT Authorities

Advanced remote capabilities that significantly raise effi-ciency and lower costs. The advanced remote capabilities of Intel vPro technology allow IT Authorities to maintain and repair PCs more quickly and at lower cost. This is true for both normal maintenance activities and problem resolutions. “Clients often turn PCs off after hours, and that used to mean that we couldn’t reach that PC,” says Beckman. “Before vPro, we got at best a 50 percent success rate on updates, resulting in performance and security problems.” With Intel vPro technology-based PCs, IT Authorities can automatically power the PC on and execute the updates seamlessly. “Showing clients how this improves their IT function helps us in the push for standardization of their PCs,” notes Beckman.

For the repair of hardware and software problems, Intel vPro technology’s remote capabilities eliminate many field service calls by allowing IT Authorities to fix problems remotely. “Avoid- ing a technician dispatch is a big deal,” says Beckman. “It can easily save half a day of effort.” Recently, a client called with a blue-screened Intel vPro technology-based PC. “With vPro’s out-of-band capabilities, we were able to remotely examine the machine and determine that it had a memory fault. That allowed us to check inventory and get the right part shipped overnight. Without vPro, we would have had to visit the site twice, once to diagnose and once to remediate,” explains Beckman. “We can even poll machines for hardware inventory information when they’re turned off.”

Remote repair of software problems. In addition to allowing IT Authorities to diagnose many hardware-related issues remotely, Intel vPro technology allows the company to diagnose and repair many software-related issues without a service visit. “With vPro’s in-band and out-of-band capabilities, there really is no software problem that you can’t fix remotely,” notes Beckman. “We can

Table 1. Delivering More to Customers Through Intel® vPro™ TechnologyIT Authorities’ deployment of PCs based on Intel vPro technology yields better IT functionality and lower service delivery cost2

ActivityWithout Intel vPro Technology

With Intel vPro Technology Improvement

Average time to resolve a hardware problem 48 hours 24 hours Reduced 50%

Average time to resolve an OS problem 72 hours 3 hours Reduced 96%

Average amount of downtime per PC per month 20 minutes 15 minutes Reduced 25%

Time to achieve 95% patch saturation 168 hours 72 hours Reduced 67%

Deskside visits per month 10 8 Reduced 20%

Power cost savings per PC over 3-year life span $0 $561 TCO lowered by $561

now re-image and rebuild a machine remotely — which means the turnaround time has gone from two days to ten minutes.” IT Authorities recently dealt with a PC that failed to boot up. “We looked at it remotely and determined that the user had a USB key plugged in that was preventing the boot from disk,” says Beckman. “By avoiding a field visit, vPro’s remote capability turned a 4½ hour remediation into a very quick fix.” Even simple maintenance tasks are greatly accelerated: “One of our clients had a start-up utility that they wanted removed from every machine,” notes Beckman. “We could do it remotely without vPro, but only on the machines that were turned on – so the task took five days to accomplish. With vPro, it would have been a snap.”

“A vPro-based PC replacing an older PC saves $187

per year [in energy costs] – and that’s for every PC.

This makes upgrading to a vPro PC very attractive

and makes our sales process easier.”

– Tom Beckman, CTO, IT Authorities

Built-in technologies that improve security and help lower customers’ risk. Because IT Authorities can reach machines that are powered down, security software updates are accomplished much more quickly, resulting in better customer protection. “vPro decreases the time it takes to reach 95 percent patch saturation at a typical customer from seven days to three days,” says Beck-man. In addition, Intel vPro technology’s hardware-based filters can automatically isolate an infected PC and keep it from spread-ing across the entire network while maintaining IT Authorities’ connection to the infected machine for remediation. “These are critical improvements,” says Beckman. “If one guy plugs in a USB key that his kid was playing with, he can take down an Exchange server, an SQL database, or an entire company. vPro delivers marked improvements to the customer’s security profile, and these are benefits that customers understand and want.”

Active and passive power management capabilities that signif-icantly reduce energy costs. With the ability to turn off groups of PCs after hours and then power them back up before the start of the next business day, IT Authorities can now save their customers money through lower energy usage, making a substantial positive impact on their ROI. “Unlike server power consumption, most people are not aware of how PC power usage adds up,” explains Beckman. “We estimate that a vPro-based PC replacing an older PC saves $187 per year — and that’s for every PC. This makes upgrading to a vPro PC very attractive and makes our sales process easier.” According to Beckman, energy-efficient IT is becoming a client priority, and Intel vPro technology’s power savings is an important part of the sales process. “In terms of energy cost, the dollars saved for many of our clients are monumental.”

Better customer experiences and improved account control. Because Intel vPro technology helps IT Authorities respond more quickly to customer issues, customer’s productivity and satisfac-tion are improved. “We can show customers that we’re doing more proactively, and the customer instinctively understands how responsive we are to reactive issues,” says Beckman. “In both cases, Intel vPro technology puts us ahead.” Especially in the case of problem remediation, Intel vPro technology brings clear advantages. “When a vPro-based system has an issue, we can start the process faster; fix the problem faster; and eliminate that frustrating ‘middle-time’ when the customer knows help is coming but the help isn’t there yet.”

N-central* Fuels Managed Services

N-central from N-able Technologies is the leading remote

monitoring and management platform deployed globally by

Managed Service Providers (MSPs) servicing the small and

midsize business market. In addition to providing full support

for the capabilities of Intel® vPro™ technology, N-central

accelerates growing managed services businesses with

unique offerings:

Unparalleled business support. N-able’s state-of-the-art

knowledge management portal provides the training, tools,

and materials you need to build a profitable, high-value

managed services business.

A low-risk, proven solution. N-central is deployed by 2,000

MSPs to monitor and manage 25,000 remote networks.

Powerful PC and server management features.

A comprehensive set of remote management tools provide

the core functionality that all MSPs require to manage

customers effectively and deliver more than 90 percent

of services remotely.

Lowest cost of service delivery. The combination of

N-central, best-practice tutorials, Automated Configuration

Management, and Remote Support Manager reduce your

cost of service delivery.

Agent and agent-less monitoring. Only N-able offers the

flexibility of both agent- and probe-based network monitor-

ing, allowing you to select the most efficient way to manage

your customer’s environment.

Available as an on-premise or hosted solution. N-able’s

remote monitoring and management technology is offered

both as a platform and as a hosted subscription service,

allowing you to pick the option that best fits your needs.

For more information on N-central, visit www.n-able.com.

1 PCs with Intel® vPro™ processor technology include Intel® Active Management Technology (Intel® AMT). Intel Active Management Technology requires the computer system to have an Intel AMT-enabled chipset, network hardware and software, as well as connection with a power source and a corporate network connection. Setup requires configuration by the purchaser and may require scripting with the management console or further integration into existing security frameworks to enable certain functionality. It may also require modifications of implementation of new business processes. For more information, see www.intel.com/technology/manage/iamt/.

2 Source: IT Authorities based on field testing performed during July 2009.This document is for informational purposes only. Intel makes no warranties, express or implied, in this document. Copyright © 2009 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel, the Intel logo, Intel vPro, Core 2 inside, and Centrino 2 inside are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.

* Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.Printed in USA 1109/ET/OCG/XX/PDF Please Recycle 322767-001US

Solution provided by:

Delivering Increased Margins and Competitive AdvantageAccording to Beckman, Intel vPro technology’s capabilities are resulting in higher margins. “It’s clear that for each client that has deployed Intel vPro technology-based PCs, our margins are higher,” says Beckman. “We estimate that overall service profit margins at those clients average 5 percent higher after the implementation of vPro systems. This in turn allows us to enhance our offering to the client, with additional tools such as backup, change management, and richer monitoring.” Not only does the technology build profitability, but it also delivers competitive advantages that build revenue. “The capabilities of Intel vPro technology make IT Authorities faster than our competitors, with better capabilities for monitoring and remedia-tion,” he says. “As vPro becomes more and more the standard in the small and midsized business market, we have an advantage because we know how to leverage those capabilities. We can bring better resolution times and greater flexibility in the delivery of our services.”

For More InformationFor more information on the benefits of Intel vPro technology for small and midsize businesses, visit msp.intel.com.

For more information on IT Authorities, visit www.itauthorities.com.

For more information on N-able’s N-central management console software, visit www.n-able.com.

Overview of Intel® vPro™ Technology

Desktop, notebook, and tablet PCs based on Intel vPro

technology, combined with a leading software management

application such as N-able’s N-central*, provide unprecedented

capabilities. These advances allow you to deliver more value

to your managed services customers by helping them spend

smarter, get more done, and be more secure.

• Remote diagnosis and repair reduce costly and time-consuming

deskside and service depot visits by resolving problems and

repairing PCs quickly from the console – even if the PC is

powered off or in standby mode, is connected to a wireless

network, or has a disabled OS.1

• Automated proactive alerts identify issues before they

become problems or costly repairs. These include alerts

about missing or disabled software, memory usage, hard

drive health, fans, and power supplies.

• Secure remote power up and power cycling allow you to

perform scheduled maintenance, backups, and monitoring

after hours.1

• Encrypted, remote security updates ensure that security

patches are up to date and speed the deployment of

critical patches, even to systems that are off or down.

• Remote asset tracking eliminates time-consuming manual

inventory of hardware and software with remote inventory

management, even if the system is off or down.