Rebuilding Remote Worker Devices from the Cloud

Imagine that your workforce has been sent home and is now working remotely (not too big a stretch of the imagination). You get a panic call from an end user that they have accidentally allowed some malware onto their computer. It appears to have evaded your security tools and now you can’t trust their Windows install. How are you going to fix it? How do you rebuild their device if they aren’t in the office?

For some organizations, this would be a nightmare scenario. Forrester reports that 71% of rebuilds today require reimaging in the office, but for you it is not a big issue. Why? Because your team has Dell laptops. Not just Dell laptops, but Dell laptops with ProSupport and our Ready Image, our cloud-based solution to remotely restore a clean Windows 10/11 image. You simply talk the user through recovering a clean Ready Image install onto that drive using our Self-Healing Image Recovery.

The shift in the way that we work, initially to remote working and then to hybrid working, brought  the need for better remote support solutions into sharp relief. Customers need to restore the image in several scenarios such as:

◉ Corrupted operating system

◉ Malware recovery

◉ After HDD/SSD replacement

While end users are increasingly IT savvy and prefer self-enabled solutions, few IT admins expect their end users to reinstall the operating system by themselves. These scenarios can become complicated and involve decisions that end users may not be prepared for. Our solution makes it possible for the IT admin to make the decisions, while enabling the user to initiate the process from wherever they are.

How does This Work?

Repeated boot failures will trigger Dell’s SupportAssist agent to assist with the recovery. This is enabled via the following BIOS Settings:

◉ SupportAssist OS Recovery – Unchecked

◉ BIOS Connect – On

◉ Dell Auto Recovery Threshold – Any desired value greater than zero (0)

IT admins then have access to our TechDirect portal (registration required) to set their recovery policies. Dell’s Ready Image is available for both Windows 10 and 11, in thirteen languages/variants and four regional language groupings. It is also available in the current shipping (N) and prior shipping versions (N-1 etc.)

Dell’s cloud interface allows IT admins to set the desired Windows build to be recovered. This enables you to recover the right build for the user, instead of recovering the build that the device shipped with, which could be months or years old, depending on the system’s age.

Secure by Design

This is a powerful feature that could raise security concerns within organizations, but we have engineered controls into the solution.

◉ The feature is controlled via the device BIOS

◉ When the feature is turned on in the BIOS, admins can control its use via TechDirect

◉ The TechDirect tile enables IT admins to enable and set policy at a device level or for your entire fleet

◉ The TechDirect portal offers Role Based Access Controls

User Experience

Once a suitably entitled device is enabled to use Ready Image, the user will begin the process and let Self-Healing Image Recovery work its magic. They will be required to connect the device to their home network which could include entering the SSID and password for the Wi-Fi, where Wi-Fi is supported. Download time will vary based on the available bandwidth on their network.

The image content is distributed via Content Delivery Network (CDN) technology to provide the best availability and performance, but typically the last mile connection is the bottleneck. Devices with an SSD usually perform significantly better than those with an HDD during the imaging phase.

Dell has taken our popular and widely used OS recovery tool and extended it to enable end users to recover our clean Ready Image to their devices, wherever they are. The TechDirect portal includes a web interface to allow IT admins to control the OS that their end user recovers. Built-in security protocols ensures that users can only recover the OS build an IT admin specifies and only if their device has been enabled to do so. Entitlement and enablement checks are performed at the point of execution allowing for real-time control in response to help desk calls.

Source: dell.com

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Dell and Microsoft: Changing the Game with Windows 11

What do all of these have in common? These are the themes coming from today’s Windows 11 announcement. It’s where you’ll see us continue to work closely with Microsoft to provide the PC experiences that matter, regardless of how you interact with technology.

This is critical as we think about the role PCs play in our new do-from-anywhere world. The PC remains the #1 choice for people who need to stay connected or work from anywhere. The proof is in the numbers: new data reveals that nearly 1 million PCs are currently being sold every day and IDC forecasts 18.2% growth for the PC market in 2021.

As the way we work, connect and collaborate changes, we know the real evolution is in the experiences – that’s why you’ve seen us invest in making the PC more personal, more intelligent, more connected and – of course – more beautiful.

Combine that with Microsoft’s focus on simplicity, ease-of-use and personal connection and, together, we are changing the game. Here’s how:

◉ New Design: It always starts here. The refreshed user experience and clean, fluid redesign of Windows 11 pops with our immersive displays. Take our XPS 13 with OLED as an example, this PC will dial up the new Windows layout and immerse you in stunning contrast and color.

◉ Human Connection: We all crave connectedness, and Windows 11 lets you reach the people you care about easier. Right from your desktop you can text, chat, voice or video call with just a click. But that doesn’t mean much if your device isn’t designed for connectivity and collaboration. From our 5G enabled Latitude PCs with faster internet speeds to enhancements we’ve made in our camera, displays and audio features, we’re creating experiences that allow you to truly adopt a work, play and collaborate-from-anywhere lifestyle.

◉ Choice: We all want it done our way. Today, we live in a multi-PC environment (for work, play or learning) and we don’t see that changing. With Windows 11, our devices will feature the latest innovations in touch, stylus and voice – and we can’t wait for you to get your hands on these features while working on the Dell PC model of your choice. Products like our recently launched Alienware X15 built for a new generation of gamers, our XPS and Precision devices designed for creators at all levels, and our intelligent business PCs that help you work smarter represent our passion for providing PCs that amplify your experiences from the moment you power them on.

When can you expect Windows 11? We are not at liberty to share dates just yet. But here’s what we can tell you: you’ll see many of our PCs available with Windows 11 starting on day one. And you can continue buying our Windows-based PCs with the confidence that you’ll be offered a free upgrade to Windows 11 after it’s available (all Windows-based Dell PCs on dell.com meet the Windows 11 system requirements. You can  learn more about system requirements here). So, no need to wait if you’re eyeing a back-to-school PC or treating yourself and/or a loved one to a new device.

Source: delltechnologies.com

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Three Approaches to Modernizing your SQL Server and Windows Server Environments

If your organization is like many, the fall is preparation and planning time. This means buzz words like “roadmaps,” “strategic priorities” and “growth drivers” start flying around in abundance. And yes, those are all important. But what makes detailed IT planning even more important this year are two critical events from Microsoft – the end of support of SQL Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008. If you’ve waited until now to start a migration plan for SQL Server 2008, you’ve got some catching up to do as the end of support date has already passed. And for your Windows Server 2008 environments, the end of support date is coming in January 2020. With staff out for the holidays, peak shopping season, and end of the year wrap up, this date can pose a serious challenge.

And while it is tempting to cross your fingers and hope that everything is ok, we highly discourage that approach. This blog outlines the risks of doing nothing about your EOL environment.

While IT planning and budget discussions are taking place, we’d like to help you capitalize on this opportunity with a practical framework to modernize your SQL Server and Windows Server 2008 environments. At Dell EMC, we recommend looking at both your hardware and software platforms when thinking about modernization as the two are so intertwined. But ultimately there will a driving force – a need for a modern OS (perhaps caused by one of the aforementioned EOL events), the need for new hardware, or a third driver centered around an entirely different approach to IT delivery.

Approach One: Modernization Driven by the Need for a New Operating System or Database Platform

If your IT organization is using these Microsoft EOL events to drive a discussion around modernization (which they should) now is a good time to plan for a hardware refresh. The obvious reason is that without updating your server platform, you may not be able to upgrade to the latest version of the OS/DB. Say you’re running SQL 2008 or Server 2008 on an R720 – the best you’ll be able to do is upgrade to the 2012 edition of Windows Server or SQL 2017. That means you’ll be facing another end of life event in a few years. At the end of the day, you’re not buying yourself much time and it’s never a good idea to leap a chasm in two bounds if it can be avoided.

Furthermore, an incremental update will not give you access to all the latest features in Windows Server 2019. Specifically,

1. Unique hybrid capabilities: A simplified migration process and the new Windows Admin Center make on-premises and Azure cloud management seamless.

2. Faster innovation with containers: Windows Server 2019 provides support for Linux and Windows containers side-by-side, allowing businesses to run multiple isolated apps on a single system.

3. Enhanced Security: Integrated Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) prevents and detects zero-day exploits, network attacks, and data breaches. It can also discover security breaches and secure the operating system.

4. Unprecedented HCI Capabilities: Create highly available, highly scalable software-defined storage for a fraction of the cost of traditional SAN or NAS arrays.

Approach Two: Modernization Driven by the Need for new Server Platforms

If your IT organization has recognized the need to refresh your datacenter hardware, now is a good time to think about migrating to the latest Windows Server and/or SQL Server edition. There’s tremendous value in updating the hardware alone and this Forrester report demonstrates the advantages of modern server platforms. But that’s really only half of the story.

The latest editions of SQL Server and Windows Server are purpose-built to take advantage of some of the latest server advancements. And the Dell EMC PowerEdge family delivers on those advancements with:

1. Integrated Security: Complement the security advancements in Windows Server with a secure hardware platform – from the logical hardware design through the physical security of the supply chain.

2. Scalable Architectures: the flexibility and versatility of the PowerEdge Server portfolio means you can grow your infrastructure as you grow your business, and therefore your computing needs grow. Idle capacity is finally a thing of the past.

3. Intelligent Automation: iDRAC and OpenManage are perfect complements to the advancements in Windows Admin Center and integrate seamlessly.

Approach Three: Modernization Driven by the Need to Change your IT Delivery Model

Perhaps the drive for modernization comes from a need to make a big shift in how you deliver IT services to your organization and to your end users. Five years ago, we saw many companies make a monumental shift from bare metal to virtualization. That shift required newer, higher performing hardware platforms and new software technologies, chief among those VMware’s V-Center and Microsoft’s Hyper-V.

Today we are seeing an equally monumental shift with the emergence of hyper-converged infrastructure, containers, and hybrid computing. And it doesn’t come as a surprise that yesterday’s hardware and software platforms aren’t capable of delivering on the promises of these new technologies. They simply weren’t designed to do what is possible today.

And while we must all evaluate the benefit of adopting these new technologies, it’s also important to consider the impact of doing nothing. A recent study found that organizations who adopt modern cloud, data and AI technologies outperform:

◈ Nearly double operating margin
◈ $40K more revenue per employee
◈ 50% higher average net income on revenue

Where do I start?

If you’re ready to get started on your modernization journey and get ahead of the Windows Server 2008 End of Life deadline, you’ll first need to understand your environment as it exists today. Dell EMC offers a free tool to do just that. Live Optics is an online software application you can use to collect data about your IT environment. Nothing is more convincing than your own data, so take advantage of this tool to understand your organization’s needs and make a compelling argument to implement the latest data management and analytics applications.

If you’d prefer, Dell Technologies Consulting Services can perform a thorough, validated and rationalized view of your server and data estate to determine which Windows Server require attention and which SQL Server versions you want to move and/or consolidate.  Once you understand your landscape, then what? If you’re like most organizations, you don’t have the time or skilled resources to upgrade and migrate workloads to Windows Server 2019. And given most SQL Server databases/instances are running on Windows Server, it makes sense to upgrade both at the same time. The more complex the environment, the more complex upgrades and migrations can be.

Even though you may have a highly skilled IT Team, do they really have the expertise to migrate instances, database and/or applications to better performing and secure hardware infrastructure? Maybe not. As a Microsoft Gold Certified partner, Dell Technologies Consulting Services can help with the entire process. Depending on how much help your team needs, we offer services for every budget. Choose from one of our pre-packaged (ProConsult Migration or ProConsult Flexible) services or a fully customized engagement for both Windows Server and SQL Server.

Planning to be at Microsoft Ignite 2019? We will have Windows Server and SQL Server experts on site at Ignite.

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Ransomware and What You Can Do to Help Protect Your Data

The largest ransomware attack in history hit many organizations worldwide over the past few days. Known as the “WannaCry” worm, it encrypts the files on a computer and demands a $300 ransom payable in Bitcoin before unlocking it. Last year, according to the Department of Justice, 4,000 ransomware attacks happened daily. As of Friday, over 200,000 computers in 150 countries were hit by this one ransomware variant, according to Europol. Now that people are back to work again this week, organizations in Asia have reported that they are affected as well.

The most common types of data that are typically affected by ransomware attacks are employee, patient or customer information, as well as financial data. Attackers have also targeted infrastructure systems in the past. For example, in November 2016, hackers compromised and encrypted data from around 900 systems from San Francisco’s Municipal Transportation Agency. The key takeaway is that if your company’s data has value and you need it to run your business, then it’s vulnerable to attack.

One of the main reasons why ransomware attacks are successful is due to the number of employees who have data resting on their endpoint and the cyber-literacy of these employees. Last month, Dell released its end user security survey of 2,608 people who handle confidential data as part of their job. The results showed that more than 1 in 3 (36 percent) will frequently open emails from unknown senders at work, opening themselves and the organization to ransomware attacks.

So what can companies do to protect themselves? It is imperative that businesses take a multi-layered approach that address all facets of cybersecurity:

◈ Have robust security solutions in place to protect critical data and prevent threats from taking place. This includes advanced threat prevention to help stop the threats, data encryption so that even if someone obtains your data it can’t be used, and back-up and recovery solutions to get up and running again if a breach occurs.

◈ Educate employees about their role in security and encourage employees to think before they act. Employees should be wary of communications are either unsolicited, or that implore you to act immediately or ask for personal information. That urgent email from your bank asking you to click to verify your information may not be from your bank. When it doubt, don’t click on the link or open the attachment.

◈ Keep the security solutions that you do have in place updated and deploy all patches promptly. This attack occurred because of a vulnerability in Windows for which Microsoft released a patch back in March. While many organizations do not have security specialists on staff or limited budgets, every organization needs to prioritize software maintenance as well as the deployment of patches in order to reduce the areas of vulnerability.

◈ And lastly, have a back-up plan. In the event things go wrong, organizations must have robust data recovery solutions in place to be able to meet any application recovery time objectives set forth by the business. This could be the difference between companies that bounce back quickly in the event of catastrophe and those that don’t.

Dell has taken these steps and we are currently reviewing our internal systems, our products and our hosted services to make sure we protect ourselves and our customers from this attack. For those looking to understand how to protect themselves going forward, Dell Technologies have several security products available that can help.

With an attack of this size and scope, many people are asking if they can be affected at home, and the answer is yes if you are using Microsoft Windows Operating Systems other than Windows 10. Microsoft released a patch for the flaw, so if you have automatic updates turned on, you should be protected.

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