Dell launches notebook security services
by Steve Ragan - Jul 1 2008, 11:03
Dell offers added services for notebook security. (IMG:J.Anderson)
On Monday, Dell announced Dell ProSupport Mobility Services, an extension to the Dell ProSupport portfolio, initially introduced in February 2008. Now, not only will Dell track and recover lost or stolen notebooks, they can enable customers the ability to delete the contents remotely.
“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.”
With those figures in mind, the Laptop Tracking and Recovery part of the new service offered by Dell will be a hit with some IT clients. The Remote Data Delete will add to the piece of mind, but if the hardware is not recovered, there is still the loss to deal with, because you are out the cost of the laptop twice.
In addition to Dell ProSupport Mobility Services, Dell commercial laptop systems are available with 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.
Each of the new security offerings, as well as Hard Drive Data Recovery, Certified Data Destruction, Accidential Damage, and Extended Battery service are all added cost features. You will need to arrange them before you start stocking up your hardware.
IDC projects nearly 54 million units of business laptops will be purchased for employees and shipped in 2008. Sadly, you can bet that almost thirty percent will be lost or stolen, and if there was critical data it might be reported in ten percent of those cases. If such added features are affordable, and you have a large mobile workforce to manage, maybe you should look into this if Dell is your hardware vendor.
Comment on this Story