The value of Intel vPro® – Resolving Issues Such as the CrowdStrike Outage

Posted on November 26th, 2024



Intel vPro enables your IT team to support and protect your computer and files remotely. Groundbreaking security and innovations enable your IT team to remotely repair corrupted hard drives, restart pcs, and more. Sleep soundly knowing your remote work station is protected.

With the next PC Refresh Cycle upon us, System Integrators and VARs need to highlight the value of Intel vPro® Technology and make it a key differentiator in discussions about the features that are essential for their clients next PC. There can be no greater example that demonstrates this better than the July 19, 2024 CrowdStrike Outage that impacted over 8.5 million PCs world-wide, disrupting air travel, banking systems, and hundreds of other industries.

The outage, which was the result of new code that was part of an automatic application update, resulted in users being unable to access their PCs due to the dreaded “Blue Screen of Death”. Resolving the issue required removing the corrupted code or loading new updates, both of which are very challenging in the face of the BSOD issue. However, with Intel vPro® Technology, IT Administrators can bypass the BSOD issue, whether it be the result of software corruption or hardware failure, by securely booting into the Intel® AMT which is part of Intel vPro®. From there, IT Admins can access the system to perform many tasks including removing the corrupt CrowdStrike code or load new software updates or even reload a previous software version.

Perhaps there is no better example of the value of Intel vPro® Technology than by comparing experiences between American Airlines and Delta Airlines who were both impacted by the CrowdStrike Outage. Even though American Airlines had over 26,000 computers in 365 different locations, they were able to recover in just four hours and only had to cancel 450 flights. By contrast, Delta Airlines took over five days to recover, canceled over 7,000 flights and claimed over $500 million in lost revenue which have led to them filing a lawsuit against CrowdStrike.

While many businesses may not have the scale of widely distributed PCs, American Airlines serves as an example of the value of being able to securely access systems from a remote location that are on  differing networks, and being able to perform a fix even when the system is down or non-functional.

Bryan Wendlandt, Cloud Systems Engineer at Intel, demonstrates the significant value of Intel vPro® Technology and how it can be used to solve real world IT challenges.

Original article