Fujitsu Best Practices Practices: Deploying The Intel® Unite™ Solution Intel Unite Paper

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Dalit Codish

Intel Unite Solution

Program Manager, Intel IT

Scott McWilliams

Real-Time Collaboration

Strategy & Architecture, Intel IT

John D. Nguyen

Real-Time Collaboration

Engineer, Intel IT

Executive Overview

Effective collaboration between Intel employees enables them to share

innovative ideas—a significant factor in Intel’s competitive advantage.

Intel IT has long been a key enabler of collaboration solutions for our

enterprise and we continually seek ways to improve the experience for Intel

employees, empowering them to bring their innovative concepts to life.

With our ongoing deployment of the Intel Unite® solution, we have made

significant gains in making collaboration easier and faster. This solution

has had such a positive impact on productivity that we have already

deployed it to 3,500 rooms and plan to upgrade at least 4,000 conference

rooms worldwide by mid-2017—representing a total potential savings

of about 180,000 productivity hours. The Intel Unite solution is now

standard for any new or renovated Intel facility.

The Intel Unite solution boosts employee productivity and enhances

collaboration in the following ways:

• Eliminates cables, dongles, and adapters that make connecting devices to

displays complicated. Meetings start faster and productive time is increased.

• Supports remote participation in the meeting by letting employees share

content directly from their client device from anywhere in the world.

• Helps Intel IT keep conference room display-sharing fully operational

through remote support and proactive issue identification and remediation.

Over the last 18 months, the Intel Unite solution was used by employees

for 2.5 million presentations, representing nearly 922,000 hours of

content-sharing.

Intel IT has developed best practices relating to preparation, deployment,

and support of the Intel Unite solution. We hope other enterprises can

learn from our experience and put our best practices to work in their

own environments and transform their conference rooms into smart,

connected spaces where employees—both inside and outside the

room—can collaborate more productively.

Best Practices: Deploying the

Intel Unite® Solution

White PaPer

May 2017

The Intel Unite® solution

is modernizing Intel’s

conference rooms,

transforming them into

smart, connected spaces

where employees—both

inside and outside the

room—can collaborate

more productively.

it@intel

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Contents

1 Executive Overview

2 Business Challenge

3 Solution

– Step 1: Preparing for the

Intel Unite® Solution

– Step 2: Building the Hub

– Step 3: Deploying and

Commissioning the Intel Unite

Solution

– Step 4: Supporting and Maintaining

the Intel Unite Solution

13 Results

– Performance Testing

– User Response

14 Next Steps

15 Conclusion

Contributors

Kaitlin Murphy

Workplace Transformation Marketing

Manager, Business Client Platforms

James M. White

IT Director, Real-Time Collaboration

Bart Willett

IT Audiovisual Support Engineer, Intel IT

Business Challenge

Intel has fostered a culture that aggressively pursues innovation and

focuses on efficient collaboration and the open sharing of ideas among

employees and business partners. Intel IT is continuously looking for ways

to use technology to improve the collaborative experience and empower

employees to bring their innovative ideas to life.

Collaboration at Intel involves many factors, one of which is the sheer

number of conference rooms. Worldwide, Intel campuses house at least

4,000 conference rooms that feature display capabilities, and that number

is growing as we renovate facilities. Also, because Intel is a global company,

meetings can take many forms. Some are highly structured with dozens of

attendees from many regions. Others are impromptu get-togethers. Intel’s

conference rooms must support discussions of all kinds and the easy

sharing of content from laptops or other client devices—whether or not

all participants are in the room or even at an Intel facility.

Historically, Intel conference rooms have featured a wide variety of

configurations and cable connection options (HDMI*, Micro-HDMI*,

DisplayPort*, Mini DisplayPort*, DVI*, Mini-DVI*, Micro-DVI*, VGA*, and

so on) to try to accommodate all possible requirements. This reliance on

hard-wired cabling presented meeting participants with many issues:

• Connecting devices to displays was complicated. Meetings were

delayed and productive time was shortened.

• Remote participation in the meeting was impeded. Because audio

or visual connections were not always readily available, remote

participants contributed less than they otherwise might have, and what

they did contribute sometimes required someone in the room to act as

an intermediary, which slowed conversation flow and decision making.

• Keeping rooms fully operational was difficult. Because of their

frequent use, cables often were misplaced or damaged.

Intel IT sought a way to increase meeting efficiency and to make it easier

for meeting participants to securely share content from a PC or Mac* by

reducing the reliance on cables to connect to conference room displays

and projectors.

Complicated Connections

The number of cables and adapters

in conference rooms delayed

meetings, frustrated meeting

participants, and reduced the

effectiveness of collaboration.

Terminology

Hub: A hub is a Mini PC running the Intel Unite® application, which is

installed in a conference room, huddle space, or other collaboration area

and is equipped with Intel® vPro™ technology.

Client devices: End-user devices (regardless of form factor) that are running

the Intel Unite application are referred to as “client devices” (shortened to

“clients” in some cases).

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Solution

A wireless solution that would eliminate the collection of cables and

adapters was clearly the best option. In our effort to make meetings run

more smoothly with consistent, high-quality, and reliable wireless displays,

we investigated several wireless solutions. We ultimately settled on the

Intel Unite® solution1 for the following reasons:

• It offers the lowest total cost of ownership (no recurring fees2).

• It is a single, common solution that we can easily customize to meet the needs

of different conference rooms and the existing equipment in those rooms.

• It is an open platform that works with off-the-shelf PC peripherals and

accommodates new features and capabilities without replacing the

hardware, making new releases faster and easier and allowing reuse of

audio-visual equipment already deployed in the enterprise.

• It provides an excellent user experience (see the Results section).

• It is easily scalable through the power of a “PC in every room” (see the

sidebar What a PC in Every Room Can Do for the Enterprise). We have

used the solution in a wide variety of collaboration spaces, including

huddle spaces, collaboration rooms, and conference rooms.

• It can be easily managed remotely through the use of Intel® Active

Management Technology (Intel® AMT), which is built into all PCs equipped

with Intel® vPro™ technology (see the sidebar What a Smart Conference

Room Looks Like at Intel).

We conducted several pilot projects with the Intel Unite solution in 2015

and are now in full production mode, using enterprise-level processes for all

IT-managed systems in the conference rooms where the Intel Unite solution

is deployed (currently about 3,500 rooms).

Using what we learned from these pilot projects, we developed a set of best

practices to prepare for and deploy the Intel Unite solution. We deployed

the solution gradually, starting with one U.S. location; then based on room

prioritization criteria and room audits, we extended deployment throughout

2016 and early 2017. We hope that by sharing these best practices, other

enterprises can more easily deploy the Intel Unite solution and can quickly

begin to benefit from it.

As shown in Figure 1, our overall approach consists of four main steps:

1. Prepare

2. Build

3. Deploy and commission

4. Support and maintain

Our well-established and distributed PC support infrastructure helps us

accomplish these steps efficiently with consistent results.

1 For background information about the Intel Unite® solution, refer to the IT@Intel white paper “Conference

Room Collaboration Using Intel® vPro™ Technology.”

2 There are no license fees associated with the Intel Unite® solution. The software comes bundled with

designated hardware, and feature updates are included to maximize the business value of the solution.

Figure 1. We divide our best practices

for implementing the Intel Unite®

solution into four main steps. Each

step contains several tasks that

help the entire implementation and

ongoing support proceed smoothly

and efficiently.

Deployment Strategy for

the Intel Unite® Solution

We create a deployment plan,

perform room audits, prepare

infrastructure and client devices,

and inform Intel Help Desk staff.

1Prepare

Before deploying we must create

hub accounts, install the solution

using a “gold” build that includes

a welcome screen, and prepare for

solution maintenance.

2Build

We perform the physical installation

in the conference room (including

the hub and display), apply a

commissioning checklist, and

establish support mechanisms.

3Deploy and Commission

We implement a sustainable support

model based on our current support

process, develop hot-swap strategies,

and remotely support the solution with

Intel® Active Management Technology.

4Support and Maintain

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Step 1: Preparing for the Intel Unite® Solution

Intel’s workforce is highly mobile, and the majority of employees use laptops

that connect to the corporate network using a Wi-Fi* connection. Because of

this heavy Wi-Fi traffic, we require extremely robust networks with stringent

quality-of-service standards, such as less than 1-percent packet loss for

wireless voice over IP (VoIP) connections. Therefore, we pay careful attention

to anything we add to the environment that will use Wi-Fi capacity.

We undertake several steps to prepare our environment before we deploy

the Intel Unite solution. First, we set deployment criteria and perform room

audits and infrastructure characterization. This helps to identify gaps in

network availability (LAN) and electricity, as well as other facilities issues

in the room. For this step, we coordinate with Corporate Services (Intel’s

facilities organization). Subsequent steps include preparing the hub and

client devices and training the Intel Help Desk staff.3

Establish Deployment Prioritization Criteria and Roadmap

The following lists the criteria we have established that help us decide at

which site, and in what order, to deploy the Intel Unite solution.

• Coordinate with Corporate Services and IT Construction for new

construction, renovation, and special projects. We align our process

with planned and funded renovation and construction projects to control

costs, avoid repeated alterations to rooms, and make the transition as

easy as possible for employees.

• Consider the size of the site and the efficiency of the deployment.

We focus on large sites that bring economies of scale and can impact

the most employees quickly.

• Consider that Intel is a global company. We deploy the Intel Unite

solution to all geographies.

• Match deployment capacity. We verify that the desired deployment and

timing does not exceed capacity or funding.

• Focus on sites that have operations and support resources available.

We deploy first to sites that have dedicated conference room support

engineering and operations staff.

• Align with our other enterprise-wide initiatives. Initiatives such as Workplace

Transformation dovetail well with deployment of the Intel Unite solution.

Perform Room Audits

Before we deploy the Intel Unite solution at a site, we perform a thorough

audit of each conference room. Room audits are performed in close

collaboration with Corporate Services staff. Together, we assess each room’s

network connections, available displays and projectors, and existing wiring

and ports in conjunction with the room’s intended usage. For example,

Corporate Services can assist us if a particular room needs cables to be run

inside walls, or if a display requires specialized installation. In some cases,

we may decide to upgrade some or all of a room’s equipment, depending

3

IT departments at smaller companies may not need to complete all these preparation steps or may be able

to reduce their number, based on their specific IT and conference room environments.

What a Smart Conference

Room Looks Like at Intel

The basic Intel Unite® solution

requires the following components:

• A Mini PC based on a 4th

generation Intel® Core™ vPro™

processor or higher, running

Microsoft Windows* 8.1 or higher

• Intel Unite® application

• A display device

• Necessary cabling for video,

network, and power

With these basic components in

hand, the Intel Unite solution is easily

customized. For example, some

of our conference rooms include

additional components that enhance

the collaborative experience. Some

optional components that we use

include a high-performance HDCP*-

compliant video scaler/switch, a

large-format HD display that can

take advantage of full-HD and 4K

resolution, and a USB PIR (passive

infrared) motion sensor to sense

when people enter the room and

automatically activate the equipment.

Mini PC Application

Required

Optional

Video Switch Motion Sensor

Display

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on how the room is used and its existing equipment. In other situations,

we can keep the existing equipment, because the Intel Unite solution is

compatible with existing technologies.

Next, we divide the conference rooms into discrete categories (for example,

we use size categories: small, mid-size, and large) and develop a diagram for

each category (see Figures 2 and 3). We also develop a bill of materials and

installation notes for each category. An important part of these diagrams is

that they show the shared content control flow of the system components

as well as the elevation view on the wall where all components get installed

(hub, interfaces, power, network ports, and so on).

Depending on the room usage, we make decisions about cabling. Because

the Intel Unite solution eliminates the need for cables, our goal is to install

the minimum number necessary. These cables can be used to support

legacy systems that need to connect without using the Intel Unite solution

or as a redundant backup.4 Not all rooms require using a cabling switch. For

those that do require a switch, we have found that careful switch selection

is important for reliable results.

Prepare the Infrastructure

In addition to performing room audits, we prepare the infrastructure that

will support the solution. This includes assessing the wireless network at

a particular site and setting up the solution architecture.

Assess the Wireless Network

As with any wireless solution, the performance of the Intel Unite solution can

degrade if the network conditions are poor.

At every site where we plan to deploy the Intel Unite solution, we perform

a thorough wireless network characterization to determine whether the

network has sufficient capacity or needs to be upgraded. Our characterization

includes determining the current amount and types of Wi-Fi usage at the

site and how much latency already exists. Because Intel employees use VoIP

as their primary phone connection method, it is important that the network

have enough bandwidth and the proper channeling to assure the Intel Unite

solution does not interfere with VoIP use.

We plan for growth and expanded usage when we deploy an IT solution.

Therefore, we perform stress testing on the wireless network and evaluate

how well the current network setup will scale. Based on the results of the

wireless network characterization, we may upgrade the infrastructure in

one or more of the following ways:

• Update the controllers

• Add or reposition access points to provide better coverage and balance

the client load

• Change network segmentation to improve load balancing

Our goal is that once the Intel Unite solution is deployed across a floor or

building, the quality-of-service indicators remain within the acceptable threshold.

4 Intel IT prefers to use HDMI* (digital) cable runs instead of VGA* (analog) runs because we have observed

that HDMI provides a much more consistent user experience.

Figure 2. This diagram shows how the

Intel Unite® solution is deployed in a small

conference room at Intel. This type of room

is basic, with simple cabling requirements.

Backup cables are provided for high availability.

Shared content

sent wirelessly

from user’s laptop

to hub

Passive infrared

motion sensor

(optional)

Hub (Mini PC)

installed behind

the display

Backup Cable

Intel Unite® Solution

for Small Conference Rooms

Figure 3. This diagram shows how the

Intel Unite® solution is deployed in a large

conference room at Intel, which uses a ceiling-

mounted projector. This type of room uses

additional components, such as an audio/

video switcher, an audio amplifier, and ceiling-

mounted speakers. Backup cables are provided

for high availability.

LCD projector

Intel Unite® Solution

for Large Conference Rooms

B

a

c

k

up

C

a

b

le

Shared content

sent wirelessly

from user’s laptop

to hub

Audio amplifier

Audio/video

switches

Video

Audio

Hub (Mini PC)

installed under

the table

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Set Up the Solution Architecture

When meeting participants enter a room equipped with the Intel Unite

solution, they see a six-digit PIN on the room’s display screen. They use

the PIN to access the meeting. As shown in Figure 4, the hub obtains the

PIN from enterprise PIN servers.5 The PIN requests are routed through a

network load balancer. We use a clustered virtual machine approach for the

enterprise PIN servers, which will enable us to add more virtual machines if

necessary as we expand the Intel Unite solution deployment. The enterprise

PIN servers obtain the PINs from a high-performance, high-availability

database cluster. It is important to note that shared content does not route

through the PIN servers. It is routed in the most direct network path to the

hub in the conference room.

Prepare Employee Client Devices

The Intel Unite solution requires a set of minimum specifications for OS,

RAM, and storage capacity on client devices.6 At Intel these requirements

are easily met by our standard build on all primary devices.7 Early in our

pilot projects we learned that it is important to keep client device drivers

up to date. For example, we discovered certain wireless adapter drivers

were remaining connected to one Wi-Fi access point, even when the signal

became weak and a different access point was closer. This meant that when

employees walked from their desk to a conference room, the signal would

become very weak. With such low bandwidth, the presentation content

lagged when they joined an Intel Unite solution session. To correct this

situation, we deployed a wireless LAN driver update that switches more

appropriately to an access point closer to the conference room, which

results in a better signal and therefore better performance.

The Intel Unite solution is part of the client device refresh installation

and is included in our standard build—helping to ensure that all personal

mobile PCs have the Intel Unite® application installed. If for some reason a

PC does not already have the app, aside from the minimum specifications

and up-to-date drivers, the only other thing required for client devices is

a one-time download and installation. This procedure, which takes less

than two minutes, is typically performed when the employee enters an

Intel Unite solution-enabled conference room for the first time. However,

employees do not need to be in the conference room to download and

install the software or to join a meeting.

Anyone with access to the PIN can join an Intel Unite solution session from

anywhere in the world, as long as they are on Intel’s network and have the six-

digit PIN to join (Figure 5). This allows remote participants to see and interact

with meeting content and to share their own content in the conference room

display, which is an important benefit of the solution.

5 Enterprise PIN servers are the servers that connect with the SQL database (which stores PINs and IP

addresses) for key generation and queries. We use virtual machines for the PIN servers, so no additional

server infrastructure is necessary. Also, we use multiple PIN servers to enhance redundancy and reliability

6 For the list of minimum component and system requirements, go to www.intel.com/support/software/

applications/unite/sb/CS-035669.htm

7 A primary device is an Ultrabook™ device, laptop, tablet, 2-in-one device, or Mac* that the employee uses to

complete day-to-day job duties.

Figure 4. The Intel Unite® solution architecture

at Intel uses clusters of enterprise PIN servers

and database servers for high availability

and redundancy. While this sort of fail-over

capability may not be necessary for smaller

deployments of the Intel Unite solution, in a

global enterprise environment this approach

is critical for the success of the deployment.

Enterprise PIN Servers

PresenterHub

Network Load Balancer

SQL Listener

Clustered database storing

PINs and IP Addresses

Load balancer receives all connections

from clients and hubs and redirects

clients to one of the enterprise PIN

servers, based on load and location

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Prepare the Intel Help Desk

While we are readying the physical aspects of the Intel Unite solution, we

prepare our IT support staff. They need to learn many new tasks, including

what the Intel Unite solution is and what it does, how to interact with the

Intel Unite solution interface, and how to troubleshoot issues when they arise.

Our primary training materials include the following:

• A self-paced course based on a slide presentation (complete with a

training assessment and a course evaluation)

• Several knowledge base articles on our intranet

• Workflow documents that provide step-by-step instructions for

troubleshooting various scenarios

We also encourage IT staff to take advantage of other resources, including

discussion groups on Intel’s intranet, end-user help portals, super-user

forums, and general Internet resources.

Step 2: Building the Hub

The hub must be prepared before we can install it in a conference room.

This preparation involves several steps.

Define a Default Welcome Screen

We used the central PIN server administration portal to define a

default profile that controls how the welcome screen looks. The profile

is automatically pushed to each hub when it is activated. In this way,

all hubs in the same profile display the same welcome screen, an

example of which is shown in Figure 5. The welcome screen is

customizable and can display any text that an IT department wants.

We designed the welcome screen to provide just enough information

so that users can quickly get started without getting confused.

Perform the Build Procedure

The following steps provide an overview of the build procedure.

The detailed steps, including screen captures, for this procedure

are maintained in an installation document used by Intel IT staff.

1. Prepare user accounts.

–Non-privileged user accounts are created for automated login to

hubs. We create one user account per floor per building. This strategy

minimizes the number of accounts to manage and also reduces how

many hubs are impacted if a problem arises with a user account.

–We also create unique machine accounts. Account names include

the building name and the conference room number. This naming

convention allows for easy identification and physical location of a hub.

2. Install the base OS, Intel IT’s required client software, and the

Intel Unite application.

Figure 5. The customizable Intel Unite® software

welcome screen directs meeting participants

to the application download site and provides

the PIN necessary to share content. With just a

few clicks and in less than two minutes, meeting

participants can begin to collaborate.

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3. Secure and tamper-proof the hub.

–Verify compliance with the minimum security standard.

–Verify that the Windows* OS has the latest updates and patches.

–Install and update antivirus, anti-malware, on-access scanning, and

intrusion prevention software.

–Secure the UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) boot by

activating the secure boot option and disabling all legacy boot

options (USB, network, and so on).

–Enable the Execute Disable Bit option.

–Enable Intel® Trusted Execution Technology (Intel® TXT).

–Enable and set a master BIOS password.

–Automate the login with non-administrative and domain least-

privileged accounts.

–Disable USB keyboard, mouse, and storage interfaces (intercept

keyboard sequences such as Ctrl+Alt+Del, Alt+Tab, and so on).

–Uninstall unnecessary software to reduce security risk vectors.

–Disable unnecessary Windows components (such as Fax, Printing,

and Location) to reduce security risk vectors.

4. Apply automated and non-intrusive security compliance and patching.

–Suppress system alerts and popup messages.

–Subscribe to nightly patching maintenance.

–Prevent patching during working hours.

–Select non-interactive patching.

–Allow automated reboot as needed.

5. Prepare the hub for remote manageability by configuring Intel AMT.

–Disable hibernation and standby timers.

–Disable screensavers and display shutoff.

–Provision Intel AMT for remote desktop access and power controls.

–Lock access to authorized support groups only.

6. Implement monitoring and alerting (not included with the

Intel Unite solution).

–Enable system uptime indicators.

–Enable system heartbeat for health tracking.

–Enable self-healing processes (auto-reboot if the Intel Unite

application crashes or the network becomes unavailable).

–Enable automated alerting to the support group.

7. Connect to the LAN to get the best performance and user experience.

8. Once the hub build is complete, perform functional testing to

verify that it automatically logs in with the generic account and

launches the Intel Unite application.

To streamline the process we use automated scripts that perform many

of the above steps, making the build procedure quick—we have reduced

the build time to about 20 minutes (after the OS is installed) for each

hub, and many can be built in parallel.

What a PC in Every Room Can

Do for the Enterprise

The Intel Unite® solution lays a

foundation for a large variety of

functionality that has never before

been possible. Having a PC in every

conference room enables Intel IT to

continue to enhance room capabilities

and user experiences through

software—there is the potential to

do anything that a PC allows using

software and peripheral hardware

combinations. Examples include

videoconferencing, integration with

unified communications solutions,

digital whiteboarding with added

touch screen(s), room lighting control,

room occupancy detection, and more.

Although it may take us several years

to reach it, our ultimate goal is to make

every room smart enough so that it

knows the employee and understands

the context of the employee’s

meeting—to the extent that the

room (according to user permissions)

initiates the meeting as the employee

enters rather than the employee

having to initiate the meeting.

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Prepare for Support

These tasks help streamline the support of the hub:

• We create an unattended device organizational unit and add all hubs to it. This prevents

patches or updates from being pushed to the hubs during work hours or when the device is in

use. This organizational unit also prevents unauthorized keyboard and mouse connection, use

of external USB drives, and access by non-IT administrators. Intel employees use the hubs in

appliance fashion as a part of the Intel Unite solution but not as general computing devices.

• We define a naming convention that is used for all hubs. When an employee reports an issue

that refers to a conference room, the Intel Help Desk can easily identify and remotely connect

to the correct device.

• Once the Intel Unite application has been confirmed to be fully functional on a hub and

the hub has been installed in the conference room, the IT technician sends an email to the

appropriate support team. The email includes the hub’s computer name and a request to add

the hub to the IT tool that handles security patching.

Step 3: Deploying and Commissioning the Intel Unite Solution

Several best practices guide where and how we deploy the Intel Unite solution, including

establishing the following:

• A repeatable deployment process

• An organized approach to change management

• A set of metrics by which we can measure success

Establish a Repeatable Deployment Process

The deployment process includes a well-documented room audit checklist (which is key for

bill of materials creation and subsequent deployment steps) and network characterization, as

well as carefully detailed build process for the hubs and installation procedures (Figure 6). In

particular, technicians use a commissioning checklist to verify that a conference room is fully

ready for production. Having this information helps keep the installations consistent across the

deployment, whether at a single site or worldwide.

Figure 6. For each conference room type, we provide a commissioning checklist, such as the example shown

here. The checklist items vary, depending on the display device installed in the room, but overall they help keep

the installations consistent across the deployment—whether it happens at a single site or worldwide.

Room Commissioning Checklist

Mini PC mounted securely behind or to the back of the display

PIR sensor set at the top of display closest to the door (lens facing door) and test

Ensure cable management is clean and tidy behind the display and/or floor stand, and at the table

Ensure the HDMI* dongle ring has DisplayPort*, Mini DisplayPort*, and Mini HDMI adapters

Display settings complete and front-panel controls are locked

Confirm Ethernet connectivity

Intel Unite® application main splash screen is displayed

Test video switching

Test content sharing on the display with a laptop or other client device

Update appropriate Asset Management Database entries

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thiS rOOM COMeS eQUiPPeD With intel Unite®

The Intel Unite® Solution is your ticket to a hassle-free wireless meeting.

First time using? Install Intel Unite®

application from goto.download.url

1. Launch the app and enter PIN:

###-###

2. Click “Share”

3. Click “Disconnect” before

you leave the room

Additional Tips:

• Remote participants can also share

their screens in the room display

by following the same instructions.

• If you are also using the online

meeting software use the software

for audio and Intel Unite solution

for data sharing.

For help and feedback: goto.feedback.url

Securely Mount the Hub

Whenever possible, we install the hub and its associated cables and

network connections behind the room’s display screen (see Figure 7).

Doing so helps us keep the room as uncluttered as possible and helps

protect the hardware. We typically use hook-and-loop fastener tape and

cable ties to keep everything in place. We may also install the hub under

the tabletop, if installation behind the screen is not possible.

Proactively Manage Change

Whenever a new technology is introduced within Intel, we educate Intel

employees about the change and how it will affect them.

We addressed this aspect of deployment by adopting a proactive change

management strategy that helps shift employees from the old usage

model to a new usage model. This strategy empowers effective local

and global use and adoption by enlisting leaders, training super-users,

and raising awareness and understanding for the employees. Some

of the tools we used during the early stages of deployment included

staff meeting visits for site management and leaders, “lunch and learn”

sessions, café roadshows, site-wide communications, in-room materials,

and an Intel Unite solution “community of practice” on the Intel intranet.

Figure 8 shows an example of an in-room sign that we used.

Establish Keys to a Successful Deployment

When we undertake any initiative, we define the metrics by which we can

measure success. The following list that we have defined provides the

keys to a successful Intel Unite solution deployment.

• Security and privacy

–Can demonstrate that the configuration of unattended hubs meet

enterprise security requirements

–Can demonstrate compliance with privacy policy

• Remote management

–Can use Intel AMT to control unattended hubs without having to

send support staff to a conference room

–Can use Intel AMT to remotely deploy software upgrades and

configuration changes without any physical action

–Have adequately trained frontline support analysts to solve

problems remotely

• Monitoring and alerting

–Able to monitor hubs for failure states associated with network

availability, proper boot, application activity, and solid-state drives8

–Can generate alerts and support tickets based on pre-defined failures

8 The hubs in use at Intel use Intel® Solid-State Drives, which can transmit SMART (self-monitoring,

analysis, and reporting technology) data to our monitoring agent.

Figure 8. At the early stages of the

deployment we used room signage, as shown

in this example, to alert employees that the

new Intel Unite® solution is available and

to encourage them to use it. By providing

this information, as well as a link for more

information, we encourage employees to

embrace change, which accelerates adoption.

Figure 7. We mount the hub, along with its

associated cables and network interface,

behind the display if possible. This keeps

the hub out of harm’s way and keeps the

room neat.

Cable Ties

Hub

To Network

Interface

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Step 4: Supporting and Maintaining the

Intel Unite Solution

In order to maintain our investment in the technology and its functionality,

we devote considerable time to creating the support plan.

Implement a Sustainable Support Model

The Intel Unite solution is more than a collection of hardware, software,

displays, and conference rooms. It is a service that IT offers to improve

employee productivity. Therefore, we have established a service-oriented

support model that addresses many aspects of the solution:

• Resource requirements for hub storage, build, and hot-swap

• Strategies for procurement, refresh, and spares

–We plan to use a refresh cycle that is similar to the current PC client

refresh cycle (two to four years)

–We procure the first set of spares as part of initial deployment

• Roles and responsibilities for the audio/visual Service Team and the

support staff who support and maintain employee client devices

Figure 9 shows the components of our service model that require specific

emphasis for the Intel Unite solution.

Use a Standard Support Process

Our support process for the Intel Unite solution is similar to the support

process we use for any enterprise application:

• Employee contacts the IT Help Desk by email, phone, or chat.

• Support staff answers questions, helps troubleshoot problems, and

helps escalate issues.

• For hardware problems, support staff remotely troubleshoots the hub.

If required, the hub is replaced (see Develop a Hot-Swap Strategy).

In addition, we maintain a social collaboration community for the Intel Unite

solution, where anyone—support staff or end users—can ask and answer

questions. We also use the community to post help information, such as

commonly asked questions or tips and tricks. Through this same community,

users can submit feature requests. We pass those requests on to the product

development group, which considers them for inclusion in the next release

of the Intel Unite solution.

“Our user experience with

Intel Unite is quite positive.

Now it is very common to have

more than 40 people ‘united’

in one room and have no

issues. THANK YOU!”

— Bruce Tufts

VP, Logic Technology

Development Group

Intel Corporation

Figure 9. People and process are required to support a global rollout and maintain a high-quality user experience. Several

aspects of our support model are particularly important to the Intel Unite® solution. Note: the overall Information Technology

Infrastructure Library contains many more roles.

SerViCe StrateGy

Financial and Service

Strategy Management

SerViCe DeSiGn

Compliance, Enterprise

Architecture, Information

Security, Technical Analysis,

and Supplier Management

SerViCe tranSitiOn

Application Development,

and Change, Configuration,

Project, and Release

Management

SerViCe OPeratiOn

Varying Levels of

Support and Operations

Teams by Region

COntinUal

SerViCe

iMPrOVeMent

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Develop a Hot-Swap Strategy

Although hardware failures are not common, they do happen. To

minimize downtime for employees, we have developed a hot-swap

strategy for replacing hubs:

• Use detailed, step-by-step scripts for build and customization processes.

• Store spare Mini PCs at the IT Service Center associated with the campus.

–Stock two Mini PCs for sites that have an install base of 50 or fewer

conference rooms that are enabled with the Intel Unite solution.

–Stock spares equivalent to 3 to 5 percent of larger install bases.

• Mini PCs can be built with the IT client build (Windows OS plus

minimum security requirements) upon receipt or when a ticket is raised.

• Patch and customize the hub to a specific room, based on the

support ticket.

Remotely Monitor and Support Hubs

When we began our first pilot deployments of the Intel Unite solution, one

of our challenges was being able to monitor and report issues proactively

and efficiently. Using Intel AMT, we can remotely support these systems.

To expand our proactive capability, we developed a custom software agent

that resides on hubs to help ensure maximum uptime and proactively alert

support staff in case of a failure. (This solution is an internally developed

IT solution and is not part of the Intel Unite application.)

The software agent sends a periodic “heartbeat” to a central server that

monitors for them. If any of the hubs fail to report a heartbeat, the interface

on the monitoring server automatically creates an alert and a support

ticket. Support staff can resolve most of the issues remotely—in our

experience, about 80 percent of issues encountered by hubs in rooms are

detected and resolved proactively, without end-user action. If a physical

action is required (such as reconnecting a power cable) the ticket is routed

to the local site support team that can visit the room and resolve the issue.

The location and other details of the hub are captured as part of these

alerts and tickets so that the support staff knows exactly where to go.

We have found that the software agent proactively resolves issues

and minimizes disruption to meetings.

Measure Customer Usage and Adoption

To provide visibility into how employees were embracing the Intel

Unite solution, we used the Intel Unite® Plugin Software Development

Kit (Plugin SDK) to develop a telemetry plug-in.9 This plug-in provides

information about the number of connections and the length of each

connection, which we can then extrapolate into usage data (see Adoption

and Usage Results), which is valuable to Intel’s facilities organization as

well as others across the enterprise. We found that it is a simple process

to use the Intel Unite Plugin SDK to develop the plug-in, which we can

customize as necessary going forward.

9 Telemetry is an automated communications process by which measurements are made and other

data collected at remote points and transmitted to receiving equipment for monitoring.

Intel® vPro™ Technology Helps

Keep Support Costs Low

We stay at the forefront of technology by

anticipating future use cases and building

enterprise systems that will support

those use cases as they emerge. Several

years ago we foresaw the potential

benefits of Intel® vPro™ technology,

because of its comprehensive set of

security, manageability, and productivity-

enhancing capabilities.10 As part of

Intel vPro technology, Intel® Active

Management Technology (Intel® AMT)

provides remote management over wired

or wireless networks across devices.

It enables access to clients through a

secure channel irrespective of power

or OS state, supports remote patching,

repairing, and upgrading of operating

systems and applications, and allows

inventory of client-side software and

hardware to be taken remotely.

Because we already had Intel AMT

remote support technology in place,

we could easily apply it to the Intel

Unite® solution, which includes Mini

PCs in many rooms with no specific

person responsible for any of them

(an arrangement often referred to

as a “headless” system or a system

including “unattended devices”). For

such a solution, remote management

capabilities are crucial to controlling

deployment, support, and maintenance

costs. For example, Intel AMT allows our

Intel Help Desk staff to troubleshoot

and resolve support issues by using

remote keyboard/video/mouse, power

management, and rebooting. Overall,

Intel AMT makes managing a large

deployment of the Intel Unite solution

efficient and affordable.

Because Intel AMT integrates the

management of unattended devices

into existing management solutions,

no additional training or additional

management software is necessary.

Intel AMT supports management of

FCAPS (fault, configuration, accounting,

performance, and security)11 while

keeping support costs low.

10 For more information about use cases for

Intel® vPro™ technology at Intel, see the

white papers “Intel® vPro™ Technology: Proven

Value in Four Use Cases” and “Achieving Long-

term Business Value with Intel® vPro™ Technology.”

11 FCAPS is a network management framework

created by the International Organization for

Standardization (ISO).

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Results

We measure the results of an initiative or deployment two ways. One

measurement is purely technical—how does the solution perform? The other

measurement is more qualitative—how do employees like the solution? In

both respects, results from the Intel Unite solution at Intel are positive.

Performance Testing

Our performance testing seeks to determine whether the application performance

and capacity meets expectations. We also want to confirm system performance,

capacity, and scalability. Table 1 lists the key elements of our testing strategy.

The results of our performance tests showed that the Intel Unite solution does not

overload the servers and provides rapid responses to PIN requests:

• All transactions were successful.

• Average server CPU utilization was low: 8 percent for SQL servers and

4 percent for Web servers.

• Average transaction response time was less than .09 seconds per transaction.

• 90 percent of the PIN requests took less than .16 seconds, even during

the load test.

User Response

We have consistently received positive feedback scores from our users. We

have currently deployed the solution to 3,500 rooms throughout the world

and plan to reach 4,000 rooms by July 2017. We continue to measure users’

acceptance and satisfaction with the Intel Unite solution and use the feedback

to improve and provide the best experience possible.

Metrics

To rate customer satisfaction, we conducted surveys of employees who have

used the Intel Unite solution. Overall, employees are excited about the way

that the Intel Unite solution improves their collaboration experience. They

emphasize the ease of use and the fact that it “just works.” The extensive

usage and positive feedback indicate that employees value the solution.

We also evaluated customer support and operations readiness.

In addition to the surveys, we used the monitoring plug-in described earlier

to track the following:

• Adoption and usage (sessions per room and hours of screen sharing per

room per week)

• Stability and availability (uptime)

• Quality of service (no interruption of other services, such as disrupted

VoIP calls, due to use of the Intel Unite solution)

Using this data, we have determined the Intel Unite solution saves an

estimated 50,000 productivity hours per year by making meetings more

efficient. When deployment is complete, we estimate a total potential

savings of about 180,000 hours.

Table 1. Testing strategy for the

Intel Unite® solution

 Run a performance test against the

production enterprise PIN servers.

• Run a test with 400 users requesting

a PIN refresh every 5 minutes to

establish baseline.

• Run a test with 800 users requesting

a PIN refresh every 2.5 minutes to

load-test the application.

 Monitor the system resources for

failed transactions.

 Measure the execution time.

 Monitor and measure system

resource utilization.

 Monitor SQL and Web servers.

~50K hOUrS

Productivity

Hours Saved

~180K hOUrS

Total Potential

Savings

2016

2,800 Rooms

Mid-2017

4,000 Rooms

Estimated Savings Using

The Intel Unite® Solution

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Adoption and Usage Results

Since 2015, we have deployed the Intel Unite solution to over 3,500 rooms.

Our telemetry plug-in captures two key data points: connections and

presentations. This data gives us a view into adoption and usage of the

Intel Unite solution throughout all deployed rooms. Here are some data

points that illustrate the popularity of the Intel Unite solution:

• Since November 2015, Intel Unite solution usage has consistently

averaged at least 4.2 presentation hours per room per day. This exceeds

our goal of 4 hours per day—meaning that the Intel Unite solution is in

use more than 50 percent of every working day.

• Over the last 18 months the Intel Unite solution was used by employees

more than 2.15 million times (connections) for 2.5 million presentations.

(Multiple people connecting to the same session counts as multiple

connections. Similarly, each presentation, even in the same session, is

counted as separate.) During the same time period, the total duration of

content-sharing approached 922,000 hours.

• We are very close to achieving our 99.5 percent goal for hub uptime; to

date, we are at 99.3 percent. Our overall failure rate is a mere 2 percent,

including power issues, hardware failures, and network outages.

• The metrics dashboard also captures which rooms are heavily used. Some

of Intel’s buildings are used around the clock, and the 10 most heavily

used Intel Unite solution-capable rooms have collectively logged more

than 10,000 connections—signifying healthy adoption of this technology.

Survey Results

We have conducted several user surveys to gauge the effectiveness of

the Intel Unite solution. The response has been consistently positive; the

majority of users indicate they would recommend the solution to others.

In both an early survey (after we had deployed the Intel Unite solution to

about 500 rooms), and a survey after we had deployed to about 1,400 rooms,

we garnered a consistent 83 percent satisfaction rate, far exceeding our

goal of 70 percent.

Next Steps

As we continue deployment of the Intel Unite solution, we plan to

continue collecting monthly metrics that document usage, deployment,

and user stories. Our goal is to complete Intel Unite solution deployment

to 4,000 conference rooms by July 2017, as well as introduce enhanced

capabilities that will further support collaboration and innovation across

Intel. These capabilities include PIN-less join as well as integration

with Unified Communications software that will support audio, video,

and content-sharing between Intel Unite sessions and the Unified

Communications platform. We also anticipate further integrating digital

whiteboards, touch screens, room lighting control, room occupancy

detection, and other sensor-based capabilities.

Recent Survey Comments

About the Intel Unite® Solution

• “Unite is great and makes meetings/

sharing content very efficient.”

• “Projecting content wirelessly is

extremely convenient!”

• “Ease of use. Instantly working.”

• “It’s fast. It’s easy. It works.”

• “Amazing. It’s needed in all

conference rooms.”

• “I love not having to carry around a

dongle to meetings.”

2015 Early Adopter Comments

About the Intel Unite® Solution

• “It is easy to use and very

responsive.”

• “I love that I didn’t need a dongle.”

• “Love the ease; not having to

wrestle with cables and buttons.”

• “Quick and easy swapping of who is

sharing, easy to share.”

• “It works!”

• “No more dongles!”

• “Utter simplicity”

15 of 15IT@Intel White Paper: Best Practices: Deploying the Intel Unite® Solution

The Intel Unite solution is now standard in any new or retrofitted collaboration

space at Intel, including those from merger and acquisition activity. We

continue to work closely with Intel IT planning and architecture groups,

as well as the Intel product group that provides the Intel Unite solution.

Conclusion

Today’s business world needs smarter meeting spaces—conference rooms

that connect the entire workforce from any location, seamlessly and wirelessly.

At Intel, the Intel Unite solution is powering modern, connected, and secure

meeting spaces that boost our employee’s collaboration and productivity.

Intel IT has successfully deployed and now manages thousands of

conference rooms with the Intel Unite solution. We have streamlined

management of these rooms by using Intel vPro technology, which

enables us to remotely manage, update, and repair all hubs, whether they

are turned on or off.

Based on the positive feedback we have received from employees who

have used the solution, we are expanding the concept of a “PC in every

room” to enhance meeting rooms—and the collaboration experience—

by making the Intel Unite solution a standard component of any new or

renovated Intel facility. We are sharing our best practices for preparing

for, deploying, and supporting the Intel Unite solution to enable other

enterprises to more easily bring this solution into their own environments.

For more information on Intel IT best practices,

visit intel.com/IT.

Receive objective and personalized advice from unbiased

professionals at advisors.intel.com. Fill out a simple form

and one of our experienced experts will contact you within

5 business days.

Intel technologies’ features and benefits depend on system configuration and may require enabled hardware, software or service activation. Performance varies depending on system configuration. Check with your

system manufacturer or retailer or learn more at intel.com.

Cost reduction scenarios described are intended as examples of how a given Intel- based product, in the specified circumstances and configurations, may affect future costs and provide cost savings. Circumstances will

vary. Intel does not guarantee any costs or cost reduction.

THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS PAPER IS INTENDED TO BE GENERAL IN NATURE AND IS NOT SPECIFIC GUIDANCE. RECOMMENDATIONS (INCLUDING POTENTIAL COST SAVINGS) ARE BASED UPON INTEL’S

EXPERIENCE AND ARE ESTIMATES ONLY. INTEL DOES NOT GUARANTEE OR WARRANT OTHERS WILL OBTAIN SIMILAR RESULTS.

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