What’s New: An Intel-commissioned UK-based survey found that more than 40 percent of employees polled said they spent two to three hours a week trying to fix information technology issues related to productivity applications and one-third reported spending the same amount of time troubleshooting video conferencing. The study found that almost half of all employees polled said a more powerful or upgraded device would enable them to be more productive in their roles, with 37 percent saying they could recover more than six hours per week of lost or unproductive time.
The pandemic was a huge wake-up call for IT teams – the standard manageability and lackluster feature set of legacy PC devices simply may no longer cut it for the “new normal” of work. The Intel® Evo™ vPro® platform-based laptops provide a fix to the issues highlighted in the report.
Why It Matters: As companies stabilize in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and IT decision-makers (ITDMs) adjust infrastructure spending to meet the unique demands of hybrid working, many companies are confronted with the issue of employees working with outdated, clunky machines.
Employee and company performance improvements hinge on the ability of ITDMs to redirect their priorities and subsequent investment into powerful, yet flexible devices that marry the form and function needs of both the modern hybrid worker and the manageability needs of their IT teams.
How the Survey Worked: Intel commissioned a report looking at the viewpoints of over 1,000 U.K.-based hybrid employees and ITDMs. The report sought a balance of opinions of how important well-functioning devices, such as Intel Evo vPro laptops, could be in day-to-day operations.
Of the employees surveyed, 43 percent said they used two to three hours a week trying to fix IT issues related to productivity applications, and 33 percent reported spending the same amount of time troubleshooting video conferencing. When considering the median U.K. annual salary for 2020 of 31,461 pounds1, that time equates to just over 190 pounds per month in wasted productivity, or 2,292 pounds per year (or about $3,165), for each employee.
Other key takeaways from the report included:
- 76 % of employees and 88 % of the ITDMs surveyed said device connectivity (e.g., fast Wi-Fi) was of high importance.
- 66 % of employees and 81 % of ITDMs prioritize better video quality for hybrid working devices.
- 60 % of employees and 63 % of ITDMs said it was important to have a device that is thin and light/ultra-portable.
Almost half of all employees polled said a more powerful or upgraded device would enable them to be more productive in their role, with 37 % saying they could recover more than six hours per week of lost or unproductive time.
The report also benchmarked pain points that employees have with their existing PC devices, and looked at other considerations unique to the ITDMs surveyed, such as security concerns and evolving vulnerabilities across networks and dispersed workforces.
The UK-based report makes it clear that poor performing legacy devices affect many facets of both an employee and ITDMs working day, and neatly ties productivity with employee morale. Tellingly, nearly half of the ITDMs surveyed said that greater investment in high-end laptops would show that their organization is committed to employee well-being.
About Intel’s Innovation: The fix to the issue of legacy device inefficiency lies in critical investment where it makes the most difference. Enterprise-scale solutions built on the Intel vPro platform are able to improve productivity for both end-users and IT teams, to seamlessly handle video conferencing demands, to provide slick software as a service (SaaS) and application access, while also acting as the benchmark for security and aesthetic considerations.
Intel Evo vPro laptops provide a fix to the issues highlighted in the report. Providing business-class PC performance that delivers simplified connectivity, long battery life, immersive displays and seamless manageability.
Answering nearly every pain point raised in the report, the Intel Evo vPro platform combines Intel® Wi-Fi 6/6E (Gig+) to help enable connectivity from any location. With Wi-Fi 6/6E (Gig+), Intel Evo vPro platform laptops offer up to 6x faster speeds in the office and nearly 3x faster speeds at home vs standard Wi-Fi 5. This is dependent on connection to a WiFi 6 router and the availability of a WiFi 6 signal. 11th Gen Intel® Core™️ vPro® processors provide powerful multitasking performance, quality video and screen sharing capability; remote manageability; and bespoke device access protocols and multi-layered security.
More Context: Introducing the Intel Evo vPro Platform (Survey Results) | Client Computing News