Overseeing and securing thousands of devices is a challenge for IT departments, potentially undermining their ability to drive innovation.
Where IT teams need to rely on multiple, proprietary management frameworks to cover different processor architectures, they can become stymied by the complexity and struggle to deal with emerging issues at pace. Maintaining visibility becomes difficult, impacting security and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).
The new wave of AI PCs gives IT leaders an opportunity to change this. By delivering advanced manageability and security in enterprise-ready devices, they can help IT teams streamline their management processes and tighten up security, data privacy and compliance.
Meghana Patwardhan, Corporate Vice President of Product Management for AMD, believes that AI PCs can help IT teams reduce their support workloads just by virtue of their superior performance, better user experience and improved battery life, particularly in comparison to existing PCs purchased four years or more ago.
Experience is the key
CIOs are now measured on the experiences of their user population, performance, all-day running and the ability to connect to the right peripherals without issues. AI PCs deliver improved the kind of improved capabilities that speak to this vital imperative.
Patwardhan says an open approach to management is key. Where manufacturers use proprietary tools and standards, it creates complexity and makes it harder to manage devices from multiple vendors using different architectures.
She adds: “What ITDMs are looking for is not to have one solution for one PC and a different solution for another; they want everything to be the same.”
It’s an approach exemplified through AMD implementation of Desktop and Mobile Architecture for System Hardware (DASH) client system management standards. As an open standard, it enables IT teams to manage common desktop infrastructure tasks remotely across different architectures, using a single set of tools.
Teams can inventory their fleet, monitor system health and deploy updates or a new operating system across PCs in multiple locations, even where the existing OS is unavailable or the PC is powered off.
Tackling hostile cyber threats
This reduces the complexity and costs of management, while helping IT teams accelerate deployment and maintain compliance.
With AI being used highly effectively by cyber criminals, security also remains a top priority for IT leaders.
Patwardhan says it is critical that businesses “secure from chip to cloud,” protecting data at every stage of its journey.
This involves reducing client PC’s exposure to compromised code or firmware-level remote attacks, while using hardware-based security to safeguard user credentials, identities and encryption keys.
The security stack in AMD RyzenTM AI PRO[1] processors deliver all the above capabilities, with the help of an integrated Microsoft Pluton Security[2] processor.
AMD Memory Guard technology goes even further, providing full system memory encryption, enabled by default, to help provide that data is protected not just while it’s in system storage, but while it’s being processed.[3]
Harnessing AI
What’s more, the new neural processing units in AI PCs enable security vendors to harness AI to strengthen defenses, whether it’s powering new malware or being used to create deepfakes.
McAffee’s Deepfake Detector can use the AMD XDNA TM neural processing architecture in AMD Ryzen TM AI PRO PCs to detect and flag AI-generated audio in videos.
Crucially, IT leaders need to know that the devices they’re buying are business-ready, both now and in the long term, with advanced validation and qualification to ensure stability and guaranteed availability throughout long refresh cycles.
“It doesn’t sound sexy,” adds Patwardhan, “but it is extremely important, because what businesses don’t want is people changing software or hardware on them.”
When streamlining management processes, consistency and quality count.
[1] Ryzen™ AI is defined as the combination of a dedicated AI engine, AMD Radeon™ graphics engine, and Ryzen processor cores that enable AI capabilities. OEM and ISV enablement is required, and certain AI features may not yet be optimised for Ryzen AI processors. Ryzen AI is compatible with: (a) AMD Ryzen 7040 and 8040 Series processors and Ryzen PRO 7040/8040 Series processors except Ryzen 5 7540U, Ryzen 5 8540U, Ryzen 3 7440U, and Ryzen 3 8440U processors; (b) AMD Ryzen AI 300 Series processors and AMD Ryzen AI PRO 300 Series processors; (c) all AMD Ryzen 8000G Series desktop processors except the Ryzen 5 8500G/GE and Ryzen 3 8300G/GE; (d) AMD Ryzen 200 Series processors and Ryzen PRO 200 Series processors except Ryzen 5 220 and Ryzen 3 210; and (e) AMD Ryzen AI Max Series processors and Ryzen AI PRO Max Series processors. Please check with your system manufacturer for feature availability prior to purchase. GD-220e.
[2] Microsoft Pluton is a technology owned by Microsoft and licensed to AMD. Microsoft Pluton is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Learn more here. Microsoft Pluton security processor requires OEM enablement. Check with the OEM before purchase. AMD has not verified the third-party claim. GD-202.
[3] Full system memory encryption with AMD Memory Guard is included in AMD Ryzen PRO, AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO, and AMD Athlon PRO processors. Requires OEM enablement. Check with the system manufacturer prior to purchase. GD-206.