One of the longest lasting and seemingly immutable truths about the American workforce has been upended: the notion that employees almost always do their work at a corporate facility. Recently, 58% of Americans surveyed said they have the opportunity to work from home at least once a week, and 35% said they can do so every day, according to McKinsey.1
Another survey by TechTarget’s Enterprise Strategy Group found that predicting work locations is unpredictable, with only 23% of organizations saying all employees who previously worked from an office will return to the office. That number is nearly identical to the percentage of organizations that indicated they will allow many employees to work remotely.2
With so many people now working remotely at least part time, the burden for managing that new reality falls squarely on the often under-resourced IT organization. Remote management of end-user computing—and every technology that enables it—has become far more complicated and far more important than ever. Employees expect and demand a smooth, seamless, and friction-free user experience that allows them to work productively and efficiently.
With the right remote management tools and the proper IT infrastructure, organizations can turn the potential chaos of “work from anywhere” into a scenario where employee location matters far less than employee experience.
Enhancing Productivity and the User Experience
The skyrocketing adoption of mobility and remote/hybrid work means many IT organizations are hard-pressed to keep up with new requirements and demands for high availability, high performance, and secure access at all times. Even seemingly simple tasks such as delivering security patches and operating system updates have become far more important—and challenging—when PCs are more likely to be located outside a corporate facility and accessible over wide-area networks or the cloud.
IT help desks also need next-generation remote management to support end users with password reset requests, performance glitches, application errors, and much more. To lessen employee inconvenience and frustration, updates and fixes must be scheduled outside of “normal” business hours. Of course, this becomes far more challenging because organizations employ people in different time zones and geographies around the world.
There is also the issue of business continuity in the event of an unexpected service interruption, which can take employees offline for hours or longer, resulting in potentially large financial losses, diminished customer satisfaction, and lower employee productivity. In these and other circumstances where remote PC users need around-the-clock support, a much higher level of remote management is essential.
Another important area where remote management comes into play is device administration, where IT organizations have to audit and report on the location and status of every device under their purview. Whether onboarding a new employee or ending access and privileges for exiting employees, IT organizations need to be able to find and understand their PC fleet at all times.
How Connection Makes Employee Empowerment a Reality
With the growing IT complexity of remote/hybrid work environments, it has become far more difficult for internal IT organizations to satisfactorily support remote management without the help of experienced, savvy technology services partners. That’s why, at Connection, we have invested substantial financial, staff, and intellectual resources in remote management.
Connection helps large and small organizations alike with a wide range of end-user computing and remote connectivity requirements. We provide the devices, software, services, and industry knowledge to cover the full spectrum of remote management to ensure around-the-clock productivity and an enhanced employee experience. Working with leading technology partners such as Intel, we can extend the internal IT organization with a wide range of capabilities, including infrastructure planning and configuration, systems integration, deployment services, and support.
This enables organizations to allow staff to work productively from home or other remote locations. It also helps them maximize their substantial and growing investment in digital work processes and cutting-edge workloads that require high-performance, secure, and sustainable PCs to get the job done.
Connection facilitates out-of-the-box operation for all PCs, regardless of location or whether there is an IT support professional at the employee’s location. Connection’s Technology Integration and Distribution Center enables it to support an organization’s diverse PC configuration needs around the world, using proven methodologies and a wide array of technical certifications in PCs, networks, and remote management.
The Remote Management Capabilities of Intel vPro®
Intel vPro® 13th Generation processors are ideally suited for the demanding, uncompromising needs of a remote workforce. Their high performance, robust security, and efficient sustainability features are designed for modernized end-user computing.
For remote management requirements, Intel vPro® processors are engineered with integrated features that make managing a vast fleet of mobile, distributed devices much easier and reliable, without taxing overworked internal IT teams.
Intel® Active Management Technology (AMT) facilitates remote management and troubleshooting. IT team members can connect remotely to an employee’s PC even when the computer is far away from a corporate facility. Intel® AMT can also handle PC monitoring even when the device is turned off or when the operating system is disabled or not functioning properly. Importantly, Intel® AMT is unique in its ability to return a PC to its last known good state, even if the employee isn’t working at that time. Finally, it supports remote out-of-band management over Wi-Fi networks, which provides secure access to devices without having to connect to the corporate local-area network.
Additionally, Intel vPro® processors come with Intel® Endpoint Management Assistant, which makes it easier for IT personnel to manage Intel® EMA- enabled remote endpoints over the cloud, as well as on both sides of corporate network firewalls. Intel® EMA software is a cloud-based solution, supporting both in-band and out-of-band management through an OS-based agent for any Windows platform.
Conclusion
To give employees the flexibility and support they need for remote and hybrid work, organizations need the technology and expertise required to make remote management a valuable part of the overall IT service delivery framework. The combination of Intel vPro® processor technology and market-demonstrated IT services from Connection empowers organizations and their workforces to do essential work, regardless of their work location.
For more information on how Intel and Connection can help your organization do more, be sure to check out our blog post, Custom IT Configurations for Remote Manageability, or contact your Connection Account Team today.
1 “Americans Are Embracing Flexible Work—and They Want More of It,” McKinsey, June 23, 2022
2 “End-User Computing Trends,” TechTarget’s Enterprise Strategy Group, Feb. 16, 2022
Alex DeRossi
Alex is a Connection Program Manager for Workplace Transformation. Alex is also a Microsoft Innovative Educator Trainer and a Microsoft Certified Professional. In his spare time, Alex enjoys superhero movies and learning about new technology.
