The COVID-19 pandemic has completely transformed the workplace, necessitating new-age models of work underpinned by a decisive move to digital. As entire industries pivot to embrace this change, nine out of ten organizations will be combining remote and on-site working, according to a McKinsey survey of 100 executives [ 1 ] across industries and geographies.
Among other key changes, this large-scale shift has created new endpoint cybersecurity challenges. With people working from home over shared network connections, collaborating online, and sharing data over the cloud, IT departments are faced with increased complexity and an urgent need to offer highly secure and stable environments to support user’ systems while protecting the company and client data.
Upgrading IT Infrastructure with Robust Remote Endpoint Management
As the workforce grows progressively distributed and mobile, with devices becoming increasingly critical to the technology experience, organizations need to adopt a holistic and modern endpoint solution that combines enhanced productivity and user experience on the one hand, with powerful hardware-based security and remote manageability on the other.
To address this rising need for enhanced security and more streamlined IT operations, Tech Mahindra collaborated with Intel to establish a comprehensive remote endpoint management strategy using Intel® Endpoint Management Assistant and Intel® Active Management Technology powered by Intel vPro® Platform. The Intel vPro® platform is a built-for-business PC management solution designed to improve productivity through enhanced performance, help strengthen data security, and give IT teams greater fleet management control. The resultant solution helped increase remote workforce productivity, secure point of sales devices, protect both enterprise and employee data, minimize unplanned downtime, and more. The overall outcome was a superior performance which also translated into greater efficiencies and ultimately cost benefits for the organization.
The Advantage of a Comprehensive Multilayer Security
As digitization becomes prolific, malware attacks are growing more sophisticated as well. Meanwhile, with users often working outside the corporate firewall, the threat surface is larger than ever. As per observations from different cybersecurity providers analysis and reports from last two years, 70% of zero-day malware variants circumvent antivirus signatures, and ransomware hides inside virtual machines (VMs). Attackers are continuously surfing to find the security gaps to attack reputed organizations and more than 1000 companies are affected.
The growing threat of data breaches, hacks, and malware attacks is giving CSOs sleepless nights. The solution, therefore, is a security strategy rooted within the hardware. And that is exactly what Intel® Hardware Shield offers, with a suite of technologies that enables more secure hardware and firmware foundation for corporate devices to prevent attacks against BIOS and firmware. Intel® Threat Detection Technology and Intel® Control-Flow Enforcement Technology helps detect ransomware, crypto-jacking and memory related attacks by adding a hardware-assisted detection layer to security solutions, raising the barrier against advanced threats. The technology detects threats triggered from VMs, uncovers file-less malware that runs hidden in memory, and discovers zero-day attacks.
Modern Remote Manageability
For the smooth functioning of the business, a robust continuity plan for the remote workforce is imperative. However, the distributed, diverse environment has been making remote manageability more complex, time-consuming, and costly. IT teams are finding it increasingly difficult to remotely manage and maintain a diverse fleet of devices, both inside and outside the firewall.
Intel vPro® platform capabilities empower IT teams to manage unresponsive devices with zero touch out-of-band support through Intel® Active Management Technology. It enables managing all Intel vPro® platform devices from the cloud and can remotely configure up to eight corporate Wi-Fi SSID for employees to connect to the enterprise network and stores up to 16 user-connected wi-fi profiles. In case of an unresponsive or corrupted OS, it can still offer remote support for the system if it is connected to the power source. Further, Intel® AMT helps in monitoring OS upgrades or booting to the system BIOS using a remote hardware KVM (keyboard, video, mouse).
Intel® Endpoint Management Assistant (Intel® EMA), a solution powered by Intel® AMT the out-of-the-band connectivity operates independent of the OS. This means a persistent connection for remote devices enabling administering remediation or timely security or other updates. With no license cost for the software, setting it up is easy too. In addition, if the customer does not have any remote management tools, a non-vPro-based machine can be supported in-band through EMA Agent. The Tech Mahindra and Intel collaboration works with enterprises across industries to enable robust remote management capabilities, helping bolster workforce productivity and security. Tech Mahindra Remote Endpoint Management Service, harnesses best-in-class solutions like Intel vPro, Intel AMT, and Intel EMA to provide flexibility, device stability, and enhanced capabilities that deliver optimal user experiences to any workforce - whether they are mobile go-getters working from various locations or power users with resource-intensive data analysis, engineering, finance, visual effects production, or content creation workloads.
Secure Your Business and Gear Up for Growth
The future is going to be remote and connected, which means that business success will depend upon the ability to manage IT needs from anywhere, reduce downtime, and make optimum use of IT investments. This will enable enterprise IT teams to work smarter, innovate better, boost overall effectiveness, ensure business continuity, and grow together. For the modern, forward-looking business, Intel vPro® platform offers the ideal all-in-one PC management solution to unlock these comprehensive benefits while enabling more agile collaboration across a dispersed workforce. Tech Mahindra’s DigiLocker offerings with Intel vPro technology helps IT teams to fix issues remotely and brings faster turnaround of devices to improve the employee productivity.
About the Author
Samuel Johnson.A
Product Development Manager – Digital Workplace Services
Samuel Johnson.A, is a product development manager in Digital Workplace Services Practice at Tech Mahindra, with over 22 years’ experience. He has curiosity to learn new technologies and has experience in most of the infrastructure domains. His passion is to identify digital solutions while improving the end user experience in the enterprises. He holds a master’s degree in project management from Alagappa University.
