May
22
2013

Let Dell KACE work, while you relax.

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Christopher Blake

It’s almost that time of year- summer. For many of us we won’t get the summer off, even though the kids of all ages might, we’re toiling away in a datacenter somewhere getting things going well for the next year. This happens in every industry surprisingly, not just in the education space. Summer tends to be one of the busiest seasons in IT because employee attendance is so low already due to vacations and other absences. Simply put, summer is when stuff gets done.

Don’t let the summer projects consume your life though. Put your Dell KACE appliances to work- let them handle the imaging, software deployments, packing your bags, and patching your machines. Wait… They can’t pack your bags… Okay- you do the packing. Then, go camping, go exploring, go to the couch, just GO. I encourage you to take a vacation this year. So many of the IT Admins that I talk to every year measure time in the number of years since their last vacation. Let’s get that down to months or even weeks- work with your team and management to get some time to recover. Even if it’s a mini-vacation of leaving at noon on Friday to go see the newest movie you can’t wait for. Let the KACE Appliances fill in for you, and go recharge your batteries.

Happy Summer to you!

–Chris

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May
21
2013

K1000 Kloser Look: Asset Types

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Christopher Blake

A common question we get involves when to combine or split Assets into different Asset Types, and when to decide that a custom field should be its own Asset Type. Say you’ve got some printers; Some are network-connected, some are local. Some are printer-only, some are multi-function devices (copier/scanner/printer). Some are black-and-white, some are color. Some are ink-jet and some are laser. Add various manufacturers, models, and other variances, and you have quite the menagerie.

Your options are: (1) Create them as multiple, different (separate) Asset Types, with mostly the same custom fields, (2) Create them all under the same single Asset Type with custom fields that allow you to differentiate between them. For instance, a Yes/No drop-down box for Network; Format: Laser / Inkjet; and one for Function. The list could go on and on.

The question is “which way is better?” though… The answer is, likely “it depends”.

  • First, how many do you have of each? Perhaps it’s not worth the effort of building two full Asset Types.
  • Second, how do you want to reference them in your Service Desk queues?
  • Ultimately, it probably comes down to Reporting. You can only get out of your Database what you put into it. So, the questions you should probably ask yourself when setting up Assets are:
    • What are you wanting to do with them.
    • What do you hope to get out of the relationships you setup between Asset Types?

Let’s pick apart one field for a moment. You will need a Manufacturer field in your Printer Asset Type. You also need one in your Phone, Router, Firewall, Vehicle, Monitor, Software, License Asset Types as well. Everything has a manufacturer almost, so this one is pretty easy. I’m not going to create essentially the same field and A, B, C, D, E, F drop-down list in every single Asset Type; I could make Manufacturer its own Asset Type (just like Vendor), and greatly simplify relating Manufacturer to my assets. That gives me ease of implementation, as well as ease of reporting; generating a list of every asset manufactured by Acme Rocket Corp. should make it easier to see how much money I’ve spent on Wile E. Coyote’s schemes.

While the thoughts above probably aren’t applicable to 100% of our customers, they should give you an idea on a decision making process that works for you.

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May
16
2013

Upcoming Webinars

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Christopher Blake

End Point to Perimeter: Network Protection that’s Inside Out and Outside In                    

May 16th at 8:30 am PST

Register now!

Are you concerned about network security?  We have a webinar for you.  Dell SonicWALL and Dell KACE will provide strategies for defense, including how to quickly implement a solution that provides the protection you need without impacting your network performance or reducing employee productivity.  You will learn how to better protect your networks from the inside as well as the outside, with solutions that reduce work for IT and security teams.

Solving Three Problems by Eliminating User Administrative Rights                         

Multiple Dates. Next date: May 22nd at 11 am PST

Register Now! 

It’s time we eliminated the role of Administrator from our Windows servers and desktops. Why? Inside Microsoft Windows, the notion of Administrator and administrator rights was never well designed in the first place. With that design, we’ve long been suffering under what amounts to a binary view of privileges: Do you have administrator rights or don’t you, have been the only options at our disposal.Yet simply killing off Administrator doesn’t solve the problem. Something must fill the hole its death leaves behind. In its place, IT dreams of a more granular approach to privilege management that aligns the actions users want to accomplish with those that you’ve specifically permitted.

Enhanced Remote Systems Management and Recovery with Intel vPro and Dell KACE                                                                                                                                     

May 23rd at 10 am PST

Register Now! 

It can be an IT manager’s biggest headache managing the growing number of remote users that are on the go and exclusively work from their laptops over wireless networks. And when a system fails to restart, a site visit often times is the only option for recovery. Now, with the powerful combination of Intel’s latest vPro technology and Dell KACE Appliances, IT managers can enjoy remote systems management and recovery that is both effective and economical. Discover how KACE Appliances together with vPro technology dramatically cut the time and resources needed to manage distributed endpoints.

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May
14
2013

Calling All Chicago-landers!

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Christopher Blake

We’ve got a couple of seats left in Chicago!- Join us for the whirlwind training event that we call Backyard Boot Kamp. Whether you’ve had your appliance for years and you have new staff, or you’re a new customer- there’s something in Boot Kamp for everyone.

Chicago, IL | May 21st – 22nd | 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Register Here
Only a few seats remain for Chicago, so register now!

Looking for other upcoming events? Click Here


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May
13
2013

Securing your Data, Inside-Out

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Christopher Blake

In the face of increasing security risks, organizations of all sizes must include the protection of sensitive data among their many competing top priorities simply because ignoring these risks threatens the continued existence of the enterprise. The motivations for implementing a solution for securing data may include:

  • Compliance with government or commercial regulation
  • Protection of the intellectual property upon which all future successes rely
  • Maintain the critical trust given to the organization by its customers and business partners

Dell Data Protection | Encryption (DDP | E) is a policy-based solution that provides you with the confidence that all of your data is secure, with a solution designed for simple, comprehensive and flexible protection. Coupled with your KACE Appliances- we’ve got you covered end to end. Here’a a whitepaper on the deployment and more: https://www.kace.com/partners/~/media/Files/Partners/DDPE-and-Dell-KACE-Integration-Technical-Reference.ashx

Try it out for yourself!                                                                                                                                         Experience first-hand the level of encryption and compliance Dell Data Protection | Encryption delivers within the context of your own IT environment! As a valued Dell KACE customer, we would like to offer you 10 free DDP | E Personal Edition evaluation licenses.

During the 30 day trial period, you will be able to experience the key benefits of DDP | E Personal Edition, including:

  • Easy end user deployment
  • Complete endpoint protection
  • Flexible encryption for high-level security
  • And much more!

To take advantage of this offer, go to https://marketing.dell.com/data-protection-evaluation and include promo code KACE. You will receive an email with software download instructions and your evaluation license key within 24 hours.

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