Today at VMworld 2021, we are excited to announce our expanded partnership with Intel with an upcoming joint solution to bring together the Intel vPro® platform and the cloud-native digital workspace platform, VMware Workspace ONE. Through this new integration, we will deliver chip-to-cloud management and unlock new security and PC management capabilities to benefit end users and IT organizations.
Remote work poses challenges to traditional PC management
We are thrilled to deepen our alliance with Intel, who shares our goal of enabling better, more secure employee experiences for the modern anywhere workforce.
This joint solution is the result of the accelerated adoption of remote work and businesses evolving into work-from-anywhere organizations. IT professionals are faced with the task of supporting these modern, distributed teams regardless of work location – remote, on-site, or hybrid.
This has also put to test the traditional paradigms of on-premises and on-network Windows PC management. Across the PC lifecycle, IT teams are struggling with the very basics – to get machines deployed, configured, patched, and even supported in case of issues. As if that isn’t challenging enough, cyber attacks continue to grow in volume and sophistication, adding to the complexity of ensuring employees are secure and productive from any location1.
How Intel vPro® and Workspace ONE work together for better security and management
Through this unique partnership, we are building a direct link between the vPro platform silicon and cloud-native Workspace ONE technologies. The vPro platform comprises an architecture that delivers comprehensive hardware-based security features to protect against modern cyber attacks that can aim to exploit vulnerabilities below the OS layer. Above the OS layer, Workspace ONE handles identity and access control, zero IT touch PC deployment, remote configuration, and provides increased success rates of applying security patches to enable OS and software protection. Together, we will provide an integrated security solution that follows devices, apps, and data, no matter where they are.
Our integration via Intel® Endpoint Management Assistant (Intel® EMA) will enable organizations to have a cloud-native, simplified activation experience for Intel® Active Management Technology (Intel® AMT). Within the Workspace ONE UEM console, admins will be able to view device info, view relevant device group details, and deploy vPro platform configurations. With this direct link to the hardware layer, management will be extended to out-of-band devices, which includes devices that are powered off or with operating systems that are not functioning.
If a device’s OS becomes non-functional, the user is unable to get into the system. This typically requires the device to be physically shipped to IT, causing significant losses of productivity. With Workspace ONE Drop Ship Provisioning, IT admins can perform remote reset and recovery of Windows PCs. Now, with vPro capabilities, admins will be able to perform remote maintenance with full keyboard, video, and mouse access on devices even without a working OS. Issues will be able to be addressed while the PC stays with the user, minimizing lost time and resources.
End of life management is a sensitive practice that also typically requires IT possession of the device. While existing solutions offer remote device reset and wipe, data can persist on the drives if IT does not have hardware access. Intel vPro enables Remote Secure Erase functionality with supported SSDs to provide a more secure cleanup to reduce the risk of corporate data falling into the wrong hands.
More routine IT tasks such as software updates can pose their own challenges when supporting an anywhere workforce – remote users work mostly on non-corporate networks and working hours have become less standardized. Our joint solution will introduce out-of-band patching to help with meeting compliance needs, while navigating around users’ varying work hours. For example, imagine that IT detects a security vulnerability, but the device in question is remote and in a sleep state. Rather than burdening the user to take action, IT will be able to call on Intel AMT to remotely wake the device over Wi-Fi, apply the patch, and place the PC back to sleep without interrupting the user. With the Workspace ONE cloud-native management capabilities, the patching is done without the use of a VPN, enabling the device to be better secured, while avoiding disruptions to the user.
Beyond providing access to the hardware level, our partnership with Intel will combine access to the rich hardware-based telemetry capable Intel vPro platform with VMware Workspace ONE Intelligence – with its Digital Employee Experience Management capabilities – to enable IT admins to maximize employee experience by proactively identifying issues through reports and dashboards and remediating with automation.
Learn more
We are thrilled to strengthen our partnership with Intel to drive the next evolution of modern management, and we look forward to bringing you more innovations together.
To hear more about this joint solution, check out the video below where I am joined by Gregory Bryant (EVP and GM, Client Computing Group, Intel) to discuss the partnership and what it means to our mutual customers. Join our expert-led breakout session at VMworld, Boost the Modern Workplace with Intel vPro and Workspace ONE [EUS2192] to learn more about the product integration. If you are interested in being one of the first to try it out, reach out to your VMware sales representative for info about our upcoming Tech Preview2.
Read all our VMworld 2021 Anywhere Workspace and EUC announcements
- All our VMworld 2021 Anywhere Workspace, Workspace ONE, and Horizon Announcements
- VMworld 2021: Anywhere Workspace and End-User Computing Announcement and Keynote Recap
1 VMware, Global Security Insights Report 2021
2 The development, release, and timing of any features or functionality described for VMware’s offerings in this presentation remain at the sole discretion of VMware.
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