HP Proactive Management with HP Techpulse

1. Triage machines that need BIOS, driver or OS updated for OPtimal Productivity and security

Companies relying on an on-prem SCCM to understand current BIOS and software states have a gap in tracking devices outside the firewall. HP TechPulse provides comprehensive visibility to BIOS and software versions for onsite and remote devices.

What are we seeing in HP TechPulse Data?

• Out-of-date BIOS, driver and application versions with the potential of impacting productivity and likely to generate help desk calls.

2. Prevent downtime with detailed hardware health monitoring

It may take longer to replace devices due to procurement challenges, replacing devices in homes, etc. HP TechPulse gives ITDMs 1-2 months of lead time by identifying devices that will have hard drive or battery failures, as well as devices that cannot be updated because of insufficient drive space.

What are we seeing in HP TechPulse Data?

• Devices that will experience a hard drive failure shortly.
• PCs that are running extra hot thermally leading to device failure.
• Impending battery failures.
• Need to be mobile at home given their families are doing school from home.

3. Right-size device replacements to optimise productivity and cost

Companies are scrambling to purchase devices for remote employees and CPU, memory and hard drive needs vary by user. HP TechPulse identifies users that need more or less powerful devices based on their usage pattern. This level of detail provides IT with device purchase recommendations.

What are we seeing in HP TechPulse Data?

• Devices incorrect sized per employee.
• Organisations overpaying for devices that are underutilised. 
• User productivity impacted by not providing a powerful enough device.

4. Identify unsecured devices that do not have firewall, antivirus or encryption activated

Larger organisations typically rely on security policy enforcements and antivirus signature updates to happen behind their firewall. With employees working remotely, these policies are invalid unless employees connect via VPN. HP TechPulse provides details on devices that are out of compliance.

What are we seeing in HP TechPulse Data?

• More devices with firewall or antivirus inactivated or out of date.

5. Understand if critical applications  are functioning effectively or need to be updated

Applications that have been reliable on-campus may not work as reliably from home due to network challenges or applications not getting updated successfully outside the corporate network. HP TechPulse provides a triaged, prioritized list of applications experiencing issues.

What are we seeing in HP TechPulse Data?

• Spike in crashes of VPN and video conferencing applications. 
• Muliple versions of applications as companises struggle to keep users’ devices up-to-date.

6. Identify which users need VPN access and which ones do not

The increase in remote workers has exceeded the capacity for some companies’ VPN infrastructure. Since not all users require constant VPN access, those users can be asked to avoid using the VPN freeing up sufficient bandwidth for users who do require access. 

What are we seeing in HP TechPulse Data?

• Increase number of VPN crashes on customer sites.