One of the ironies of the fast-changing technology world is that the corporate department that’s responsible for applying those technologies to the business is typically one of the most conservative parts of the organisation.
We’re talking about IT, of course. Despite their digital pedigree, IT organisations tend to approach new innovations cautiously and are often reluctant to be on the leading edge of technology. There’s good reason for that.
First and foremost, the IT organisation’s role has always been to keep systems running and data protected. Disruption and downtime are the enemy. The risk-averse attitude this engenders can grate on those power users who want to be outfitted with the latest gadgets, but they need to see the other side.
The products IT organisations purchase often lag current releases by at least one generation because they want to be sure whatever they put in users’ hands is going to just work. New products, updates and even security patches can introduce headache-inducing inconsistencies and vulnerabilities.
One way large organisations mitigate risk in their PC fleets is through imaging. This process outfits new machines with a known set of hardware matched with software drivers, firmware and operating system versions.
Imaging is used to imprint an exact duplicate of a master configuration on every computer in the organisation. This ensures consistency, which is critical to IT efficiency.
Imaging is more important than many people know. Over the course of months, even the same computer models from the same manufacturers can come in the door with different operating system versions, device drivers, patches and security controls. IT managers need to know the exact configuration of every PC in the field so they can optimise support resources. Even small driver variations between platforms can waste time as support staffers chase down the source of conflicts.
Security is one of the prime benefits of imaging. For example, if a vulnerability is discovered that opens the door to a man-in-the-middle attack, IT needs to patch every potentially affected system in the organisation. Without a consistent image for all PCs in use, that task could involve a painstaking one-by-one manual audit. Imagine the cost and time that would require across 10,000 PCs.
Given that most organisations use multiple PC variants and models, it’s common for several master builds to be in use. Maintaining these and identifying which drivers are required and which patches need to be deployed takes significant engineering time and increases the risk of something being released that negatively impacts users.
There are other benefits to imaging. In a disaster recovery scenario, a master image can be used to restore a PC to a working state in a fraction of the time it would take to load all the software and user profile information manually. There are also training and maintenance payoffs, since it’s easier to train people on a known system configuration and to troubleshoot problems.
The tradeoff for all this goodness is that end-user devices are usually a few months out of sync with the latest software and driver releases. That is a small price to pay for the millions of dollars imaging saves the typical enterprise.
Intel® long ago recognised enterprise IT organisations’ need for stability. The Intel® Stable IT Platform Program (Intel® SIPP) was introduced in 2003 and remains a cornerstone of the company’s strategy to support corporate customers.
Business PCs supported by Intel SIPP undergo rigorous design and testing that go beyond the standards used in building consumer PCs. It begins with the Intel vPro platform specification, which lists all features a new vPro-based PC must support to earn the vPro logo. This ensures consistency across OEM-built devices. New PC models adhere to the specification so that hardware components work together under various versions of the operating system. Intel also partners with OEMs and operating system makers on thousands of tests and feedback loops each year.
Altogether, this helps IT managers ensure compatibility across platforms. They can be confident they are buying well-validated platforms built from a specific and consistent hardware/software recipe. Furthermore, Intel SIPP promises no changes to the hardware for at least 15 months or until the next-generation SIPP specification has been released.
Intel also validates multiple versions of Windows 10 on any given generation of the platform to help customers better manage operating system transitions and take advantage of extended support from Microsoft. Having a consistent specification backed by Intel SIPP helps organisations minimise the effort needed to maintain images and deploy updates.
Intel SIPP applies the company’s most rigorous validation and testing processes to covered equipment, often encompassing thousands of tests and feedback loops. When combined with the Transparent Supply Chain program, it provides IT organisations with the industry’s most complete set of assurances that the equipment and components they buy come from trusted sources and have been subjected to the industry’s most rigorous validity and security checks.
Stability doesn’t mean having to trade off performance or features. Learn more about the Intel vPro platform and new Intel Evo™ vPro® Platform-based devices here.