Dell ProSupport Services Keep Mobile Professionals Protected And Connected

Dell today introduced Dell ProSupport Mobility Services, a suite of modular asset and data protection services to help companies protect laptop computers and company information, especially when the computers are lost – a growing problem for a mobile workforce.

• New Study Reveals Up To 12,000 Laptop Computers Lost Weekly and up to 600,000 lost annually in U.S. Airports
• 53 Percent of Surveyed Mobile Professionals Carry Confidential Company Information, 65% of Those Who Carry It Don’t Take Steps to Protect It

IDC projects nearly 54 million units of business laptops will be purchased for employees and shipped in 20082. New research reveals that hundreds of thousands of these laptops will be lost or left behind at airports, and 65-69 percent of them will go unclaimed.

For many companies, the loss of valuable information contained on the systems may be of even greater concern as the research indicates that approximately 53 percent of surveyed mobile professionals carry confidential company information and 65 percent of those who do, don’t take steps to protect it. This data can include customer and consumer information, confidential business information and intellectual property such as software code and product renderings.

The research, conducted by the Ponemon Institute and sponsored by Dell, shows that up to 12,000 laptops are lost in U.S. airports each week.

“It’s staggering to learn that up to 600,000 laptops are lost in U.S. airports annually, many containing sensitive information that companies must account for,” said Larry Ponemon, chairman and founder of the Ponemon Institute. “IT departments must re-evaluate the steps they’re taking to protect mobile professionals, the laptops they carry and company data stored on mobile devices.”

To help companies keep mobile workers and assets protected and connected, Dell is expanding its ProSupport portfolio by introducing new asset and data protection services for ProSupport for IT and ProSupport for End-Users service models. These include:

• Laptop Tracking and Recovery – helps companies more accurately track and recover lost or stolen laptops.
• Remote Data Delete – enables customers to remotely delete sensitive company data if a laptop is lost or stolen.
• Hard Drive Data Recovery –Retrieves information from a failed or damaged hard drive.
• Certified Data Destruction – Destroys notebook data in a secure manner, providing certification of destruction, and disposing of the customer’s hard drive in an environmentally responsible manner.
• CompleteCare Accidental Damage Service – covers repair and replacement costs associated with most accidental damages to laptops caused by spills, drops and surges.
• Extended Battery Service – expands battery warranties that include the option to replace a battery in the second to third year of system ownership.

“Laptops will soon become more prevalent than desktops in business,” said Steve Schuckenbrock, president, Dell Global Services and CIO. “Dell is providing services and system features now to keep companies, their mobile professionals and the company information they carry ‘Protected and Connected’ at all times.”

“Dell is continuing to listen to their customers and is introducing services aimed at addressing their needs,” said Matt Healey, Research Manager, IDC Software and Hardware Support Services. “Dell ProSupport Mobility Services provides an added layer of protection for the busy and fast-moving mobile workforce of today’s economy. Adding this layer of protection can help these employees become more productive and face the challenges of business today.”

The Dell ProSupport portfolio, initially introduced in February 2008, is a configurable suite of services that lets customers choose the support offerings that meet their unique needs. Customers can choose recommended solutions based on service model, technology being used, desired service level, or other proactive selections. With the right options, customers can reduce technical incidents by as much as 37 percent and critical downtime by as much as 48 percent.

In addition to Dell ProSupport Mobility Services, Dell commercial laptop systems are available with advanced security features such as full disk encryption hard drives, TPM security chips additional user and hardware authentication tools and antivirus software. Integrated smart cards and fingerprint readers are also available for companies that want an extra measure of external notebook security. Mobility Services combined with Dell ProSupport services better equip businesses to handle the mobility and data security challenges of today’s workforce.

Dell Breaks the Mold of Traditional Support

Breaking the mold of traditional, one size fits all, services offerings, Dell today launched Dell ProSupport, a globally consistent, customer-driven support offering that spans Dell’s commercial product and solutions portfolios. Dell has distilled more than 10 service offerings down to two customizable packages with flexible options for service level and proactive management.

• Innovations Enable Customers To Tailor Services to Fit Their Business
• Globally Consistent Offering Advances Service Quality and Simplifies IT

For the first time, Dell customers can customize and tailor services to fit their technical expertise. Competitive portfolios are unnecessarily complicated and force customers to select from a generic set of options that are less easily adaptable. Dell’s ProSupport offerings are available through the channel and address the specific needs of channel partners and their customers.

“Our customers and partners asked us to break the mold of 'one size fits all' reactive support to help them meet the needs of increasingly diverse, global, and mission critical IT operations,” said Steve Schuckenbrock, president, Global Services, and CIO, Dell. “Dell listened and acted. ProSupport delivers important new features and capabilities that make it easier to get the right support package at the right time in the right way. ProSupport is an important step forward in enabling our customers and partners to tap into a world-class service delivery capability that end-users need—and toward Dell’s broader vision to simplify IT.”

ProSupport offerings include:

• ProSupport for IT, an offering designed for technical experts, includes 24/7 support options such as Fast-Track Dispatch, a service that speeds resolution for certified IT professionals by quickly dispatching parts and Dell technicians to their location.

For organizations without a dedicated IT department, such as some small- to medium-sized businesses:

• ProSupport for End-Users includes how-to software and collaborative support for common applications and tasks such as Microsoft Windows Small Business Server, Intuit QuickBooks and wireless access configuration. Additionally, direct access to certified technicians in the Dell Expert Center help customers focus on their business, not their IT.

“ProSupport shows that Dell has responded to its customers’ feedback," said Matt Healey, research manager, Hardware Support Services, IDC. “This portfolio gives customers the flexibility to select the right support package for their level of technical expertise and the needs of their organization. I believe this is a positive step for Dell and its customers.”

ProSupport goes beyond reactive problem resolution and hardware support to include proactive management. With the right options, customers can reduce technical incidents by as much as 37 percent and critical downtime by as much as 48 percent. As organizations increasingly rely upon standards-based equipment to empower people and processes, Dell ProSupport also delivers new levels of quality and choice by offering modular options and recommended solutions to address daily IT challenges. Options for mission critical data centers, mobile/remote sales teams and virtualized environments provide proactive support while helping to simplify everyday operations.

“We have been extremely satisfied with the level of support Dell has delivered over the years, and we’re very excited about the flexibility and additional functionality ProSupport offers,” said Tim Maliyil, president of Data Guard Systems. “The best technology experience is when we don’t have to deal with technical support at all. The proactive features of ProSupport get us much closer to that ideal state.”