Managing the hardware and software an IT team provides for its workforce constantly brings new challenges both as technology evolves, and as its users demand ever more from their tools.
Many of the latest innovations are fuelled by AI technologies, including a new generation of AI PCs, powered by hardware like Intel’s Core Ultra processors. Here, we explore the key benefits of investing in new products that can drive real improvements within an IT department and the business it supports.
Hardware that fully supports the new AI ecosystem
A challenge for any IT team is to ensure the technology you’re buying into the organisation can handle everything the modern workforce demands - both now and in the future. Hardware that can support the rapid rise in applications that make use of AI and ML features is essential. Intel’s Core Ultra processors can run over 500 different AI models, giving teams the flexibility to pull in the particular model they need, without creating extra work to integrate something new and untested.
Bradley Jenkins, Intel’s EMEA AI PC lead at Intel, points to the benefits of hardware that’s optimised for such a range of functionality: “Businesses need both a rich selection of applications to choose from and to provide a good experience using them. We’re making it easier for software developers to take advantage of our AI compute engines at scale”.
Improved hardware-based security with AI PCs
Cybersecurity threats are an unfortunate fact of life for any organisation. It feels like barely a week goes by without a new cyberattack hitting the headlines. For a business’ IT department, that can introduce major day-to-day overheads in terms of managing hardware and software to keep it secure, as well as lost time to dealing with incidents if and when security is breached.
Intel Core Ultra processors that support Intel vPro provide a more secure baseline for modern computing. AI can reduce the burden on IT departments, helping to detect deep fakes and phishing attempts as well as malware and ransomware. Intel’s Threat Detection Technology (Intel TDT) uses algorithms powered with decades worth of telemetry data (the data automatically collected from remote sources for analysis) to detect threats faster. In tests it identified over 97% of known and unknown attacks, and organisations using Intel saw a 26% lower risk of major security events. IT teams responsible for device security saw 17% efficiency gains.
Easier device fleet management in an increasingly remote world
Managing disparate hardware and software across geographically-dispersed organisations is a challenge, but Intel technology introduces a variety of solutions. Whereas a ‘blue screen of death’ style hardware crash might once have required a support engineer to physically get to the device to diagnose the issue, Intel vPro allows remote support at a level beneath the operating system. So, even complex technical issues can be resolved quickly, as if the entire business was still based in a single office.
AI-powered security that takes advantage of Intel AI compute engines can also come into play in terms of the security and privacy challenges of supporting users remotely. For example, enabling communication software that allows the user to get the help they need without sharing identifiable information, enabling better support in situations where it may previously have been limited by GDPR and other privacy regulations
Computing without compromise
Multitasking is hardly a new concept in computing, but today’s users are asking more from their computers than they may realise. It is now taken for granted that many modern workers will spend a significant chunk of their days in online meetings on Zoom, Teams, or similar tools.
More commonly, that software now has built in AI and machine learning features - from noise cancellation and background blurring to automatic eye gaze correction. During online meetings users are also switching between productivity apps and office software that are increasingly integrating their own AI features, not to mention the apps in the background allowing access to corporate VPNs.
In a traditional PC, demand on the CPU quickly ramps up, whereas an Intel AI PC processes these workloads across the CPU, GPU and NPU (the Neural Processing Unit, dedicated to AI tasks). This can give a 58% faster AI performance than traditional processing architecture, and means that IT departments can give their organisations’ workforce the power to use the tools they need, when they need them - even as those tools rapidly evolve to integrate new features unlocked by today’s technology.
Longterm, longtime computing
A key advantage of the NPU in the new Intel architecture is that it uses far less energy than a CPU would for the same tasks. Combined with the huge efficiency improvements in the latest Intel Core Ultra processors that reduce power consumption by as much as 40%, this means that laptops with this technology can run on battery for as long as 20 hours. Not only does this improve what IT departments can offer their users, but reduced energy consumption can drive both cost savings and help to meet sustainability goals for the business as a whole.
Tech that supports such a wide range of emergent, AI-powered features as the workforce demands them, also has the added benefit of extending the device lifecycle. As Jenkins adds: “It’s more important than ever for business IT to consider the impact of AI within software: making the wrong decision could be costly, shortening device life cycles and increasing hardware costs.“
A few years ago, AI was barely on the radar for most organisations. Now, every aspect of a business is conscious of its impact. For IT leaders, as new technology like Intel Core Ultra comes along with new possibilities, they must ensure their teams are empowered by the latest tech capabilities.
For more information please visit intel.co.uk/AIPC
