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It’s no secret that work will never be the same. After an extended period of remote work from home offices, employees are starting to look ahead to the next phase of workplace evolution. With hybrid work gaining momentum, the question facing many organizations is how to build the right work model – one that can empower distributed employees to work from anywhere without hampering productivity, efficiency and security.  A June 2021 study Opens a new window by Future Forum found that success in a post-pandemic world hinges on digital infrastructure. The survey of 10,000 knowledge workers across six countries found that companies that invested in technology upgrades improved productivity by +54%.  But getting the hybrid work model ‘right’ is a significant balancing act.  To bring it to life, employees need the right tools, starting with business-grade devices, which form the core of an employee’s interactions with all their stakeholders. Unfortunately, this is where many organizations are falling short. Gartner’sOpens a new window 2021 Gartner Hybrid Work Employee Survey reveals only 66% of employees have the technology that lets them work effectively from anywhere, underscoring the importance of a future-ready digital infrastructure.  The pandemic cast business-class endpoint devices in a new light, making them the mainstay of knowledge workers and empowering them to collaborate seamlessly and work uninterruptedly. In the new world of permanent flexible work, an outdated device fleet severely limits employee productivity and negatively impacts the company’s ability to remain competitive and keep up with the demands of digital transformation. High-performing business PCs and workstations are table stakes for both — end-users and IT departments — in an era defined by workplace mobility.  See More: Collaboration, Mobility & Productivity: 3 Keys to Improving Employees’ Work Experience 

A Next-Gen Business PC Platform Is the Cornerstone of Hybrid Work Strategy

It’s no understatement to say that it has been a challenging year for IT professionals, who have been central to keeping organizations functioning through the pandemic. With a vast array of endpoint devices continuing to operate outside the firewall, the maintenance workload on IT departments is still spiraling upwards. Their challenge is to deliver business-class IT support in remote environments and provide proactive maintenance to maximize reliability – in ways that are the least intrusive and disruptive for end-users. While the knee-jerk reactions to address immediate needs were justified at the height of the pandemic, IT leaders need to get more strategic about building for the future. Heading into 2022, the move to hybrid work models could become a nightmare for IT teams that will be tasked with remotely monitoring distributed endpoints around the clock and secure business data and devices — all without swelling up IT management costs or negatively impacting end-user productivity. Now more than ever, IT needs to be able to reach devices inside and outside the firewall, with both in-band and out-of-band management capabilities. In addition, with cybersecurity becoming a key business imperative, IT teams are rethinking their responsibilities concerning data and device security. While balancing stability and remote manageability within a tightened budget can seem daunting, a strategic enterprise-grade platform can help organizations save “truck roll” costs associated with onsite repairs and reduce end-user downtime.   One such enterprise-grade business PC platform delivers the best of both worlds and provides gains in employee productivity and business outcomes. According to a 2021 Forrester Consulting report Opens a new window commissioned by Intel, The Total Economic Impact of the Intel® vPro® Platform: Spotlight on Midmarket Organizations, 51% of midmarket organizations reported improved employee productivity after deploying the Intel vPro platform.  The study Opens a new window used a composite organization of 800 PCs to estimate that hardware-assisted manageability tools like Intel® Active Management Technology and Intel® Endpoint Management Assistant, part of the Intel vPro platform can help reduce help desk incidents, resulting in an average of $20,000 in annual cost savings.  Bottom line: There is no better time than the present to transition to a best-in-class PC platform and build a solid foundation for the future of work. The Intel vPro platform is ideal for IT departments looking to streamline an increased workload brought on by a hybrid approach and provide security from the hardware up. See More: How the Right Business PC Experience Can Drive the Next Phase of Work from Anywhere   Four ways an enterprise PC platform bridges the needs of new-age hybrid workforces and guarantees device fleet performance, stability, manageability, and security:  

1. Redefine the PC experience with “no compromise” performance

While collaboration tools and applications help end-users stay connected, they still don’t meet the unique business needs of hybrid workers who demand faster, more powerful devices to achieve work on the go. Next-gen business-class devices are not only a necessity for today but also the way of the future for on-the-go employees looking for the highest level of performance, no matter where work happens.  Without a doubt, the future of work is hybrid. Gartner’s 2021 Hybrid Work Employee surveyOpens a new window found that only 4% of current hybrid or remote employees prefer returning to the workplace. As more organizations embrace hybrid work, it is crucial to set employees up for success by empowering them with the right devices they need to thrive. For example, devices powered by the 11th Gen Intel vPro® platform deliver 52% better Microsoft Office performance.1 And with video conferencing platforms serving as a de facto tool for collaboration, employees need faster, more immersive video experiences. The 11th Gen Intel vPro® platform provides 41% faster office productivity during a video call, making it more productive for the end-user.2 Cost Impact: The Forrester Consulting study Opens a new window commissioned by Intel estimates that a midmarket organization with 800 devices can realize $25,000 in benefits from improved employee productivity per year. 

2. Boost cloud-based manageability

Let’s face it – IT teams are often understaffed and inundated with constant requests. Now, with more devices outside the firewall and operating on untrusted home networks, it’s challenging for IT administrators to gain complete visibility and effective control over them. They need modern endpoint management solutions that centralize device management and allow them to access devices beyond the firewall via the cloud over WiFi. The Intel vPro platform helps organizations manage in-band and out-of-band devices from the cloud, in turn saving time and reducing operational costs.  Intel® Active Management Technology (Intel AMT) and Intel® Endpoint Management Assistant (Intel EMA), powerful management features Opens a new window built into the Intel vPro platform give IT teams on-prem-like control over geographically dispersed PC fleets for tasks such as device monitoring and patching. For example, Intel EMA — a wireless solution for remote manageability — helps extend the reach of endpoint devices beyond the firewall and provides a host of benefits that allows IT to simplify device management, improve policy compliance and lower PC infrastructure costs.  An endpoint management platform delivered via cloud is of strategic importance in distributed environments. Technology leaders evaluating PC technologies should prioritize hardware-based remote cloud manageability.  Cost impact: With hardware-based remote management technology integrated within the Intel vPro platform,  Forrester ConsultingOpens a new window found that 64% of respondents surveyed reported they avoided or eliminated costs associated with off-the-shelf third-party software and services. Meanwhile, 61% reported a reduction in third-party licensing costs. 

3. Stability and reliability

An enterprise-grade PC platform that scales to the organizations’ needs, supports a breadth of endpoint platforms — including mobile, computing devices and headless devices (e.g., IoT devices), and evolves with immediate and future needs can be a significant differentiating factor for IT professionals. On the other hand, a suboptimal PC platform can lead to manual interventions, add to IT costs and impact PC platform stability and reliability.  The Intel vPro platform delivers the latest technologies into a fully integrated and validated solution. This means that long-term reliability and compatibility are assured thanks to one of the most rigorous validation processes in the industry. The Intel® Stable IT Platform Program Opens a new window aims to freeze hardware changes throughout the buying cycle for a minimum of 15 months or until the next generational release. Cost impact: For a midmarket organization with 800 devices, reduced device patching and image updates result in savings up to $20,000 annually, Forrester Consulting Opens a new window estimates. 

4. Security from the hardware up

Data breaches cost organizations upwards of $4 million per incident on average — the highest ever reported in 17 years. IBM’s annual report Opens a new window predicts the cost of security incidents has risen by 10% compared to 2020. Plus, the rise of hybrid work culture poses a raft of challenges to IT departments struggling to ensure endpoint devices are patched and secured. Meanwhile, technology leaders are increasingly considering advanced security tools to eliminate data leakage and enforce device compliance. But even with such advanced technologies, endpoint devices happen to be the first line of defense, keeping end-users and corporate data secure.  Business laptops with comprehensive hardware-based security, advanced threat detection, and below-the-OS protection help to contain threats before they reach the data or cause permanent harm to the machine are redefining resiliency. The Intel® Hardware Shield, exclusive to the Intel vPro platform, offers a collection of security capabilities embedded into the silicon level of the Intel vPro platform. It can thwart attacks and improve the security posture. With malware attacks becoming the norm, Intel has fortified the vPro technology platform with Intel® Control-flow Enforcement Technology that provides CPU-level security capabilities against malicious malware attacks that can’t be mitigated with anti-malware software alone.  As the threat landscape evolves, cyber protection strategies must keep pace with emerging attack vectors. The Intel vPro platform provides unparalleled hardware-based security to protect and recover critical data in the event of a security incident. Cost impact: Per Forrester Consulting’s studyOpens a new window , respondents attributed an average of 77% of security benefits to the Intel vPro platform, and 90% of respondents reported PCs are more secure with the Intel vPro platform. See More: Optimizing ROI in the Hybrid Workplace: The One Factor That Impacts Mobility, Performance, and Security | Toolbox Tech 

It’s Time to Rethink Devices for a Smarter Hybrid Future

Collaboration apps and tools alone are insufficient to enable workers to succeed in the new-age hybrid environment. In decentralized work environments, hybrid workers need no-holds-barred endpoint devices that offer superior performance, seamless connectivity, and the ability to run bandwidth-intensive cloud applications and other high-end computing tasks — without compromising security or employee experience. With computing devices increasingly becoming an extension of work and personal lives, the Intel vPro® Platform, powered by the 11th Gen Intel® Core™ vPro® processors, is designed for mobile workforces.  As business demands evolve, it’s time for organizations to reconsider the digital infrastructure that makes all work possible. This is the best opportunity to break free from legacy device fleets and make the strategic decision to lay a firm foundation for the future of work. At the core of this foundation are next-gen device fleets that provide premium PC experiences to end-users, empower IT with tools to effectively manage the sprawling PC infrastructure, and protect IT budgets without impacting security. Organizations looking to cement leadership in a hybrid world can take mobility, performance, security and employee experience to the next level with the Intel vPro platform. 

^{Notes & Disclaimers
1 Source: As measured by PC Mark 10 Application overall score 11th Gen Intel® Core™ vPro® i7-1185G7 Processor vs. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ vPro® i7-8650U Processor. 2 Source: As measured by Productivity and Collaboration Workflow 11th Gen Intel® Core™ vPro® i7-1185G7 Processor vs. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ vPro® i7-8650U Processor. Performance varies by use, configuration and other factors. Learn more at www.Intel.com/11thgenvpro. For workloads and configurations visit www.Intel.com/PerformanceIndex. Performance results are based on testing as of dates shown in configurations and may not reflect all publicly available updates. See configuration disclosure for details. No product or component can be absolutely secure. Your costs and results may vary. Intel technologies may require enabled hardware, software or service activation. Intel does not control or audit third-party data. You should consult other sources to evaluate accuracy. © Intel Corporation. Intel, the Intel logo, and other Intel marks are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries. Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.}