Intel

After our successful, proof-of-concept (POC) testing of our on-premise platform, where we found that the Granulate software reduced 25% of memory and 44% of CPU utilization, while offering potential cost savings, we began testing in the cloud Databricks data lake. Collaborating with our technology partner Accenture, Intel IT performed a four-week POC with the active Granulate agent in our Production and Quality Assurance (QA) environment running on the Databricks platform securely in the public cloud. The results included a 23% improvement in vCore compute consumption, a 17% increase in data throughput, and reduced CO2 emissions, aligning with the on-premises benefits we observed previously for another big data workload.

To better meet Intel’s business requirements while providing internal customers with optimal data center infrastructure capabilities and innovative business services, Intel IT has overhauled its data center strategy. Its data center transformation strategy is to run Intel data center services like a factory, affecting change in a disciplined manner and applying breakthrough technologies, solutions, and processes.

In this white paper, Intel uses three key metrics to measure data center transformation success: meet growing customer demand (service-level agreements and quality of service) within constrained spending targets (cost-competitiveness) while optimally increasing the utilization of infrastructure assets (operational efficiency).

See the entire white paper here:

In 2016, the European Commission approved the most significant change in the EU Data Protection Directive since its inception in 1995. The new General Data Protection Regulation law, also known as GDPR, became enforceable in May of 2018. It is designed to strengthen security, give control of personal data to data owners in Europe, and to make sure that data regulations are consistent across all European countries.

As a security company, Wallarm recognizes the importance of data protection laws. In this audio version of the white paper, Wallarm demonstrates that its solution follows the guidelines and requirements of GDPR and that many of Wallarm’s features can help customers achieve GDPR compliance in their web applications.

The PDF version of this paper can be found here:

The Intel Information Security proof of concept demonstrated the CrowdStrike Falcon platform can quickly identify, contain, and remediate threats.

CrowdStrike and Intel co-engineered a new, advanced memory scanning capability based on Intel TDT delivering an additional layer of defense.

Improving Thunderbolt intelligence: Data collection and event monitoring provide Intel IT with actionable insights for an improved experience for users.

Thunderbolt technology has established itself as the fastest, simplest, most reliable USB-C connection available—the premier connectivity solution IT can offer users throughout the organization.1 Developed and maintained by Intel Corporation, Thunderbolt provides a universal cable connectivity solution delivering high-speed bandwidth ideal for fast data and video transfer. In addition, Thunderbolt simultaneously charges the user’s laptop—all over a single cable.

Thunderbolt standardization provides IT with the reliability and manageability needed to support users with greatly varying needs. Thunderbolt brand certification mandates a high level of minimum performance and capabilities for ports, cables, PCs, and accessories, increasing dependability across devices and operating systems. As the most comprehensive standard for USB-C connections available on the market, Thunderbolt technology provides IT with the freedom to choose from a broad range of compatible products. Plus, it delivers backward compatibility with earlier Thunderbolt devices, as well as USB-C and display devices.

And now, Intel has developed one more reason for Enterprise IT to take advantage of Thunderbolt technology: Thunderbolt Analytics, a new, sophisticated tool for monitoring and managing the Thunderbolt user experience.

The challenge that Intel IT has faced when providing their corporate users with the many advantages of Thunderbolt technology is a lack of visibility into what Thunderbolt users experience. There has been no telemetry to collect and transmit data on a range of events and parameters. How is performance on different applications? Are Intel workers having a seamless experience? Are they using the appropriate devices, and are those devices connecting properly, both individually and when chained together? Are monitors displaying content optimally? And so on. Prior to Thunderbolt Analytics, Intel IT had few tools to help support users. When a user had a problem with a USB dock or Thunderbolt dock, tech support faced a virtual black box and, in some cases, required more lengthy support sessions to dig into the problem. The results were lengthy (and not always successful) support sessions and disgruntled users.

Thunderbolt Analytics telemetry provides new insight and understanding of the user experience, helping Intel IT solve user problems more quickly and easily. Installing the tool on ~150,000 laptops throughout the company has enabled Intel IT to gather insights across the entire organization and improve the overall Thunderbolt experience—and do so in the background, transparently, with virtually no negative impact on system performance or usability.

Let’s take a closer look…

What is a system of innovation?

Innovation is at the heart of what drives Intel’s products and cultural values. Intel IT is dedicated to helping Intel thrive, and we must be as innovative as possible in our own roles. Recognizing the opportunity for encouraging more innovation across Intel IT, we set out to do exactly that.

In early 2022, an Intel IT team was formed to focus on innovation. The team researched best practices and formed a system of innovation that starts at the top—fostering a leadership culture that removes fear and dares teams to experiment. We identified seven foundational principles that enable innovative ideas to surface and leaders to follow through on 100% of ideas. To give workers a chance to explore ideas and reduce technical debt, we reserve 20% of team capacity for continuous improvement efforts (which is a form of innovation), through an initiative called Keep Improving IT (KIIT).

Over the last 16 months, our Innovation Day (InnoDays) events have resulted in 184 new ideas, 49 of which have been operationalized. A recent survey revealed that these 49 ideas are saving at least 122 hours per week (6,300 hours per year). We recently surveyed participants about how InnoDays have affected team capacity, team health and product value. The survey results made it clear that increased team capacity was the largest area of improvement, driven in large part by a growing use of automation. “Higher quality” was the largest sector in the team capacity category at 42%. Within the team health category, “higher happiness” represented over 50% of the overall category. For the product value category, “new product value” and “faster time to market” were the largest sectors at 44% and 31%, respectively.

Our system of innovation provides a formal framework to drive the implementation of new ideas across Intel. By encouraging a culture of innovation from the top down, adhering to a set of foundational principles, and providing access to innovation events where teams can share their ideas, we are helping to ensure the continued level of transformative ideas that will power Intel into the future. Word of our success has spread, and other Intel IT groups are beginning to adopt our system of innovation. We hope that by sharing our approach to encouraging innovation in Intel IT, we can inspire other companies to achieve similar results.

Learn how Intel IT uses reliability engineering to cut manufacturing systems unscheduled downtime.

Driven by the rising importance of keeping manufacturing sites operating at full capacity 24/7, Intel Manufacturing IT (MIT) has set a goal of achieving “four nines” (99.99%) availability (or 0.01% downtime) by 2025.

To help achieve this ambitious goal, we added a Reliability Engineer role to enhance the resilience of Intel’s manufacturing facilities. Reliability engineering (RE) is an emerging practice, first developed by cloud-based digital service providers. It focuses on designing systems to be failure-tolerant, so that service is maintained even when individual components fail.

At its core, RE entails identifying design patterns that promote continuity of service, both within individual applications and in their interactions. This approach involves collaboration between the RE team and the development team to help ensure that feedback on opportunities to enhance resilience is received and incorporated into system design. By closing the loop with developers, Reliability Engineers help align their overarching goals for resilience with the feature delivery objectives of the development team, enabling us to create robust and reliable solutions that meet the needs of our stakeholders.

Our Reliability Engineers proactively tackle potential vulnerabilities and develop strategies to mitigate the impact of failures on manufacturing operations. They play a critical role in identifying common failure modes, developing standards and designing solutions to lower the risk of failure.

Our results show how an RE approach can extend the benefits of resilience to the manufacturing environment, preparing us for future adoption of cloud-based microservice environments. We have demonstrated that best-in-class reliability and availability of IT systems can be achieved by adopting a standard set of RE tools and proactively applying them to improve resilience.”

Learn more about Intel IT’s approach to data center facilities risk management.

Intel IT Intel’s 54 data center modules located around the globe power Intel’s design, office, manufacturing and enterprise business domains—they are the heartbeat of Intel’s continued innovation. Intel IT has recently improved how we approach data center facilities risk management, using a unique combination of processes, data and visibility:

Using these processes, data and tools enables us to intelligently prioritize data center risk mitigation efforts and focus investments on problems with the most business impact. Over almost four years, we have reduced the overall data center risk score by a little over 50%. Notable results include:

We have also implemented new maintenance practices and updated our documentation. We expect these efforts to create an increasing return on investment as we measure long-term savings on a revolving five-year basis. Going forward, the team will continue rolling out actions derived from this project, including multi-year construction projects.

As a result of reduced risks, our data center environment is more stable, which reduces business impact. The overall number of incidents has declined and the number of incidents with business impact dropped to nearly zero by the end of 2022. Also, our data indicates that our informed risk-taking decisions have grown increasingly accurate.

We have learned that not investing in our data centers can introduce risk through technical debt. Adoption of the ITIL change, incident and problem management modules— combined with a highly detailed global data center audit over nearly four years and a close working relationship with Corporate Services—has enabled us to lower overall data center risk score by 50%. Key lessons include:

We can now make data-driven data center investment decisions so we can focus our investments on areas that matter most and that will deliver the best return on investment. We hope that by sharing our best practices, we can help other IT departments take a fresh look at data center risk management.

Other than electricity itself, no technology has changed the world as much as semiconductors. As the essential components of the continuing computer evolution, they are responsible for dramatic changes in virtually every area of modern life. As semiconductors have evolved into a wide variety of forms— including but not limited to microprocessors, memory chips, and integrated circuits—they have become the enabling technology behind a broad array of devices, from our ubiquitous PCs, laptops, and smartphones to cameras, home appliances, automobiles, laser-powered devices, and innumerable specialty systems for business, industry, healthcare, transportation, aerospace, defense, and more.

Sony Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (SCK, a subsidiary of Sony Semiconductor Solution Corporation) is a world leader in the semiconductor industry. Headquartered in Kumamoto, Japan, SCK produces and markets image sensors, integrated circuits, and a variety of components for use in the devices mentioned above.

To help meet these challenges, SCK joined forces with Intel Corporation, a leading innovator in the microprocessor industry for many years. With over fifty years of experience in successfully manufacturing semiconductors, Intel was uniquely positioned to team up with SCK. This paper details the progress—and success—of that partnership.

An enterprise-wide Windows 11 upgrade enables Intel IT to gain the performance benefits of Windows 11 on newer Intel Core processor-based PCs.