eWranglers Case Study

Though it may seem obvious that higher productivity equals increased profit margins, many MSPs struggle to accomplish high levels of staff productivity. Part of the challenge is that high productivity is not self sustaining: new tools, procedures, and opportunities are constantly evolving in the managed services marketplace, and competitive MSPs work hard to track the changes and take advantage of them. Those that don’t inevitably fall behind in a competitive landscape.

eWranglers, one of the leading MSPs in the northwestern US, understands this dynamic well. “IT providers are attracted to the managed services model because the value proposition makes sense,” says Steve Zetzer, president of eWranglers. “Help small and mid-size businesses align their IT with their business goals and then outsource their IT management to gain better IT expertise at a lower cost. But many MSPs struggle with how to drive their own productivity up. Your cost structure, your pricing structure, and ultimately your margins all depend on it.” Zetzer’s organization is constantly working to develop better processes and tools. “In our fixed-price, recurring revenue model, every call from the customer costs us margin,” explains Zetzer. “The fewer the better, and the faster remediation the better—that’s how we get our margin.” This focus on constantly improving productivity led eWranglers to adopt Intel® vPro™ technology-based1 Dell desktop and laptop PCs as a standard part of their solution. Intel vPro technology allows eWranglers to do more remotely (reducing truck rolls by over 40%) and to remediate problems more quickly (improving staff utilization and increasing margins). “vPro-based PCs are now our standard for all clients,” says Zetzer. “All of our contracts require a business-class machine, which essentially means a vPro-based PC.”

“ Without vPro, a

blue-screened

PC almost always

means an onsite

visit. With vPro, we

can cut those visits

significantly and the

average OS repair

drops from three

hours to one hour.”

– Steve Zetzer, President, eWranglers

Case StudyIntel® vPro™ Technology

eWranglers

eWranglers’ Simple Formula for MSP Success: Productivity = MarginMSP uses PCs based on Intel® vPro™ technology to cut repair times by 66% – and takes the savings straight to the bottom line

Using Intel vPro Technology to Better Leverage Your Existing Tools and Increase MarginsThe advanced manageability and security features of Intel

vPro technology allow eWranglers to significantly streamline a

number of key PC management tasks within their existing Kaseya

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:

•Increasedabilitiestomonitor,manage,andrepairPCsremotely2— regardless of power state or operating system health—that greatly reduce maintenance and management costs and increase the utilization of eWranglers’ personnel.

•Increasedsecuritycapabilitiesthatbetterprotectthe customer’s critical data and improve compliance while reducing PC downtime.

•Astandardized,energy-efficientplatformthatcanmeet the developing demands of the customer’s business while significantly reducing total cost of ownership (TCO).

These capabilities give eWranglers considerable advantages. “We’re often running at capacity, so tools that can improve our productivity impact everything: costs, margins, our ability to grow, and the quality of life for our staff,” notes Zetzer. “So vPro is a very big deal.”

“Intel vPro reduces our truck rolls by 43%. The

average field call costs us $100, and some of our

clients are hundreds of miles away, so this is huge.” – Steve Zetzer, President, eWranglers

New remote capabilities reduce truck rolls by 43%. The advanced remote capabilities of Intel vPro technology allow eWranglers to maintain and repair PCs more quickly and at lower cost. This is true for both normal maintenance activities

and problem resolutions. “vPro reduces our truck rolls by 43%,” says Zetzer. “The average field call costs us $100, and some of our clients are hundreds of miles away, so this is huge.” But the cost savings go deeper than that. “If we can do a repair remotely rather than go onsite, chances are good that the technician can be multitasking on multiple repairs at once—that’s additional produc-tivity leverage that we get from vPro.” Intel vPro technology-based systems also help eWranglers avoid what Zetzer calls ‘train wrecks.’ “A train wreck is an issue that would have been simple to prevent but takes a technician 10 to 12 hours to fix,” he explains. ”One train wreck and our margin is gone.”

Remote repair of OS problems cuts repair times by 66%. Intel vPro technology allows eWranglers to diagnose and repair many software-related issues without a service visit. “Without vPro, a blue-screened PC almost always means an onsite visit,” says Zetzer. “With vPro, we can cut those visits significantly and the average OS repair drops from three hours to one hour.” eWranglers can even remotely reimage the PC if necessary.

Table 1. Delivering More to Customers Through Intel® vPro™ TechnologyeWranglers’ deployment of PCs based on Intel vPro technology yields better IT functionality and lower service delivery cost.3

ActivityWithout Intel vPro Technology

With Intel vPro Technology Improvement

Average time to resolve a hardware problem 3 hours 1 hour Reduced 66%

Average time to resolve an OS problem 3 hours 1 hour Reduced 66%

Number of deskside visits per month at a typical customer 7 4 Reduced 43%

Average amount of downtime per PC per month 1 hour 15 minutes Reduced 75%

Number of PCs that can be managed per technician 200 250 Increased 25%

Time to achieve 95% patch saturation 7 days 1 day Reduced 86%

Power cost savings per PC over 3-year life span $0 $165 TCO lowered by $165

Leveraging Dell desktop and laptop PCs

with Intel® vPro™ technology

According to Steve Zetzer, president of eWranglers, Dell’s

outstanding support makes the difference. “Our standard

install is the latest Dell OptiPlex* desktops or Dell Latitude*

laptops with Intel vPro technology. Dell’s support is awe-

some. Whenever we have a hardware problem, whether large

or small, they have never failed to make it right quickly. Their

business PC configurations are solid, and we have a great

relationship with them through a dedicated rep. They make

reordering easy by keeping track of what our client already

has, so we save time spec-ing out the PC.

2

Hardware repairs are also accelerated by Intel vPro technology’s remote capabilities, reducing eWranglers’ average hardware repair time by 2 hours. On a vPro-based system, technicians can diagnose the problem remotely and then go to the customer site with the right part the first time. “We don’t have a huge volume of hardware issues—maybe five per month,” Zetzer notes. “But saving 10 hours per month is real money.”

Breakthrough hardware-based KVM. Today’s Intel vPro technology-based PCs include KVM Remote Control,4 a unique hardware-based KVM capability built directly into the PC. Like software-based KVM tools, it allows technicians to remotely control the keyboard, video, and mouse on a customer’s PC. But unlike software-based KVM tools, KVM Remote Control connects easily, maintains the connection through reboot cycles, and gives the technician a “full GUI” view of the PC they are working on. “Using KVM to see the machine at the BIOS level is a significant benefit,” says Zetzer. “vPro has for the first time made it possible to work on the computer remotely just as if we were physically in front of the machine. That’s why it’s our standard PC.”

“We’re often running at capacity, so tools that can

improve our productivity impact everything: costs,

margins, our ability to grow, and the quality of life

for our staff. So vPro is a very big deal.”– Steve Zetzer, President, eWranglers

Built-in technologies that reduce patch times by 86% and reduce malware remediation costs. Because eWranglers can reach machines that are powered down, security software updates are accomplished much more quickly, resulting in better customer protection. “Customers can get weeks behind on their patches because they’re turning the machine off at night,” explains Zetzer. “This makes them more vulnerable to malware—and our cost per malware incident is in the range of $500. It’s a huge impact.” Intel vPro technology allows eWranglers to keep these PCs patched—but the improvement goes even further. “Reaching PCs that are turned off better protects the PCs so that the only malware that gets through is the really nasty stuff,“ says Zetzer. “In those cases, we’re almost always look-ing at rebuilding the machine. Here, vPro lets us remount the OS remotely, allowing us to accelerate the restore without touching the machine.” vPro’s ability to remotely power up machines also helps with other security-related activities. “vPro lets us get backups and AV scans done without interrupting the PC user—which means more of them get done,” says Zetzer.

Kaseya IT Automation Framework

The Kaseya IT Automation Framework provides a complete

and integrated view of IT environments from a centralized

Web-based management console, allowing managed service

providers to remotely manage their customers’ entire

computing infrastructure with one powerful and integrated

application. The Kaseya IT Automation Framework leverages

Intel® vPro™ technology to deliver more remote capabilities

to MSPs.

Built-in IT automation. Kaseya builds automation into the

system’s deployment and management process by mirroring

best practices and automating repetitive work using

machine-driven tasks and processes.

Designed to manage, not just monitor, the SMB IT

environment. Kaseya focuses on managing the entire IT

infrastructure, so the IT services provided are proactive and

customers get deeper support for their business applications.

Powerful, fully integrated, and easy to use. The

combination of Kaseya and Intel vPro technology provides a

comprehensive, easy-to-use, and integrated Web-based IT

automation solution that can be deployed rapidly, efficiently,

and effectively.

Integrated Intel vPro technology. Kaseya has fully

integrated many of the powerful capabilities of Intel vPro

technology to provide authorized technicians with remote

PC management virtually anytime, even when PC power is

off or the OS is unresponsive.

For more information on the Kaseya IT Automation

Framework, visit www.kaseya.com.

Active and passive power management capabilities that significantly 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, eWranglers can now save their customers money through lower energy usage, making a substantial positive impact on their ROI. “With the ability to proactively manage the PC’s power state, we estimate that we can save customers $55 per PC per year,” says Zetzer. “Many of our customers are interested in green IT, and $55 is a significant benefit, especially if a customer has a lot of PCs.”

3

Delivering Unusual Margins and Competitive AdvantageAccording to Zetzer, Intel vPro technology’s capabilities are resulting in both higher margins and stronger customer relationships. “Getting customer problems solved faster means higher customer satisfaction and better account control,” he explains. “vPro increases the value of our services. There are very few providers in our market making the effort to deploy Intel vPro technology, so the competitive advantage is real.” That’s all in addition to the impact on eWranglers’ profitability. “Our bottom line is all about how long it takes us to solve customer problems,” says Zetzer. “Shortening that time is how we earn our margins. And vPro means more margin.”

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 eWranglers, visit www.ewranglersbts.com.

For more information on Kaseya’s management console software, visit www.kaseya.com.

1 Intel® vPro™ Technology is sophisticated and requires setup and activation. Availability of features and results will depend upon the setup and configuration of your hardware, software and IT environment. To learn more visit: http://www.intel.com/technology/vpro.

2 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 http://www.intel.com/technology/manage/iamt/

3 Source: eWranglers based on field testing performed during September 2011. 4 KVM Remote Control (Keyboard, Video, Mouse) is only available with Intel® Core™ i5 vPro™ and Core™ i7 vPro™ processors with Intel® Active Management technology activated and configured and with integrated graphics active. Discrete graphics

are not supported.This document is for informational purposes only. Intel makes no warranties, express or implied, in this document.

Copyright © 2012 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel, the Intel logo, vPro, and Core 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 0212/ET/OCG/XX/PDF Please Recycle 326758-001US

Solution provided by:

Overview of Intel® vPro™ Technology

Desktop, notebook, and tablet PCs based on Intel vPro tech-

nology, combined with a leading software management applica-

tion such as Kaseya, 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.

•Remotediagnosisandrepairreducecostlyandtime-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.2

•KVMRemoteControlconnectseasily,maintainsthe

connection through reboot cycles, and gives technicians

a “full GUI” view of PC they are working on.4

•Secureremotepowerupandpowercyclingallowyou

to perform scheduled maintenance, backups, and

monitoring after hours.2

•Encrypted,remotesecurityupdatesensurethatsecurity

patches are up to date and speed the deployment of

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

•Remoteassettrackingeliminatestime-consumingmanual

inventory of hardware and software with remote inventory

management, even if the system is off or down.