A few months ago, Enterprise Strategy Group released their 2015 IT Spending Intentions Survey. When questioned about their top priorities only 18% of customers indicated BYOD was a priority issue. And yet nearly twice as many (34%) said that information security initiatives were their single highest priority. This data might indicate that even though security is of utmost importance, businesses are comfortable with deploying software-enhanced consumer devices, and instead are focusing on network and data center solutions to address security concerns.
When it comes to security, you’re only as strong as your weakest link and this is why Intel recommends an end-to-end approach. Every precaution must be taken, and while consumer and BYOD solutions have improved, they are still a few notches below a true business PC based on Intel® vPro™ technology.
Consider that today’s business PCs offer high end solid state drives enabling fast full disk encryption and new features like secure managed containers and digital fencing. Mobile platforms are inevitably used for both personal business and work, and isolating these worlds helps keep business data secure. Business PCs offer improved multi-factor authentication, from smart card readers to biometrics and one-time password, all designed to block unauthorized access to private information. A business-class machine will also offer out-of-band remote management capabilities including full system control, virus remediation, system updates, plus asset identification and retrieval via location services. And let’s not forget malware protection at every level, from BIOS to OS boot and runtime. A full-featured business PC is enabled with hardware hooks for every single one of these capabilities. Compared to after-market software, hardware-enhanced security is a more robust solution, yielding improved performance, a higher level of resiliency and differentiated features.
Secure platforms can help keep a business running through problem avoidance – whether it’s malware that could cripple a system or a hacker attempting to access sensitive information. However the benefits of the latest PCs based on Intel® vPro technology don’t stop there. Business PCs now offer touch computing to reduce the completion time of many tasks, and also a wide range of form factors for matching the right device for the job. In addition, two significant productivity enhancements have been deployed with Intel® Pro Wi-Di for secure and managed presentations and Intel® Wireless Docking so mobile workers don’t have to connect and re-connect PC peripherals every time they leave the desk. We’ll cover Wireless Docking in more detail in a future blog post.
Businesses can make strides towards their information security initiatives and also see increased worker productivity with Intel vPro technology. In the coming months, we are expecting more businesses to launch proofs-of-concept and full deployments enacting many of the capabilities listed in this posting. I invite you to click on this link to learn more about A Better Way to Work.