With more employees now working remotely, organisations need to be able to provide IT support regardless of the user's location and at the same level of security as their corporate network.
Fuelled by the global pandemic, remote work arrangements now are not only the norm, but employees also expect their organisation to provide the tools and support they need to work from any location.
Companies that do not do so risk losing good talent. In a post-pandemic era, 54% of employees worldwide say they will consider quitting if they are not given options with regards to where and when they work, reveals EY's 2021 Work Reimagined Employee Survey. Specifically, 40% seek flexibility in where they choose to work.
They also need a conducive work environment, with 48% saying they want their organisation to upgrade their hardware at home, such as providing additional monitors and headsets.
As it is, employees are facing several technology challenges working remotely, with 31% pointing to the stability of their internet connection as a key obstacle, according to Dell Technologies' Remote Work Readiness Index.
Another 28% cite access to internal company resources as a top technology challenge, while 17% note a lack of or inadequate access to IT support.
In fact, 28% of respondents in the Dell survey point to IT and technical support as a top tech resource their organisation must provide, while 25% say employers should ensure their workers' remote network and devices are secured. Another 23% describe support from their IT department in resolving technical issues promptly as an important factor for remote work.
Seamless IT support essential in remote work
With employees no longer working in a centralised office environment, organisations can find themselves struggling to provide adequate IT support if they lack the right tools.
For instance, users who are not tech-savvy may find it difficult to provide diagnostic information or describe the glitch they are experiencing on their laptop or PC. This makes it difficult for the IT support team to understand and assess the problem without accessing the device themselves.
They then will need to spend time travelling to the user's home to troubleshoot, even if the fix itself takes no more than 10 minutes to deploy.
More time will be required if the user works at a hospital and the IT support staff is required to take additional precaution, such as wearing PPE (personal protective equipment), just to fix a simple technical glitch.
These issues can be addressed when work devices are integrated with remote management capabilities, such as laptops and workstations that are equipped with Intel vPro.
The Intel vPro® Platform features Intel Active Management Technology (AMT), which is built to enable organisations to more efficiently manage a mobile workforce. It is able to operate beyond a company's firewall via Intel Endpoint Management Assistant (EMA), extending the benefits of traditional out-of-band management to the cloud.
With EMA installed on the Intel vPro® device, an IT support personnel can access in-band remote management features such as operating system (OS) file-system browse and transfer as well as view and manage OS processes. Other remote capabilities that can be activated include Remote Power-on and boot control options.
In addition, security patches can be rolled out remotely to ensure potential vulnerabilities on user devices are swiftly plugged. Both software and firmware updates also can be remotely pushed to all client devices.
Furthermore, Intel AMT can facilitate remote recovery even when the device has suffered power loss or OS-level failure.
Gain real cost, manpower savings
Organisations that deploy devices powered by Intel vPro® can enjoy cost savings and greater operational efficiencies.
According to a Forrester Consulting study on the total economic impact of the Intel vPro® platform, businesses can gain US$1.2 million in risk-adjusted savings over three years from slashing security support by 7,680 hours.
Intel AMT's automatic remote patch deployment can further save 832 hours for companies running Intel vPro® devices, resulting in US$81,000 risk-adjusted savings over three years.
Workplaces today are no longer stagnant or centralised. Organisations, if they have not done so already, need to re-evaluate their technology approach to better support their remote workforce.
This must encompass arming their IT operations teams with the ability to manage the company's systems and devices, regardless of where these are located.
Such capabilities already come built and integrated into hardware powered by Intel vPro®, delivering a secure, quality remote work experience for employees and allowing the IT teams that support them to manage this efficiently.
