What we evaluated

Dell Technologies asked us to compare the IT experience when completing common device management tasks on AMD Ryzen^™ PRO processor-powered PCs versus Intel^® vPro processor-powered PCs. We evaluated both out-of-band (OOB) and in-band management capabilities, where OOB management uses a secure, alternate channel to control devices, and in-band management uses the local area network (LAN) to control devices.

For OOB management of the AMD Ryzen^™ PRO processor-powered Dell Pro 16 laptop, we used the AMD Management Console. The AMD Management Console leverages Desktop and mobile Architecture for System Hardware (DASH) protocols to communicate with the AMD Integrated Management Technology (AIM-T) built into AMD PRO platforms.

For OOB management of the Intel Core Ultra with Intel vPro processor-powered HP EliteBook 8 G1i and Lenovo T14 Gen 6 laptops, we used Intel Enterprise Manager Assistant (Intel EMA) and MeshCommander, an open-source Intel AMT console.

For in-band management of all three Copilot+ PCs, we leveraged Microsoft Intune with Entra ID.

We also compared hands-on time and effort for admins using the Dell and HP Intune partner portals and Lenovo integrations and utilities for software deployment and BIOS policy configuration tasks. Finally, we measured the time and effort an IT admin could expect when using Dell Management Portal for Intune instead of a manual approach.

Remote management

For verification of OOB management capabilities, which allow IT teams to access a PC whose operating system is down, we used the AMD Management Console and Intel EMA console. Managing all PCs from a single console streamlines many important activities, including protecting sensitive information, modifying BIOS settings or boot options, and troubleshooting PCs. We verified that the hardware-based technology that facilitates OOB management of AMD PRO (AIM-T) and Intel vPro (Intel AMT) PCs enabled these remote management capabilities:

Boot control

This function allows administrators to choose how to boot a system. Using this functionality, IT teams can force-boot into the BIOS, perform a network boot, boot to a removable drive, or use other options to conduct system management outside of the OS.

Managing security configurations

The AMD Management Console and Intel EMA leverage HTTPS secure transport and web services management to protect user data during transmission, authenticate users, and prevent eavesdropping and unauthorized modification while data is in motion.

Soft shutdowns

A soft shutdown closes all processes and turns off the PC after making sure everything is off. This helps prevent data loss or corruption, ensures the drivers and services are cleanly unloaded, and reduces hardware risk. Your IT team can even automate soft shutdown processes when applying updates.

Keyboard, video, and mouse (KVM) redirection

With this hardware-based feature, a single admin or team can gain full remote control even before the OS loads. This lets IT troubleshoot BIOS issues or reinstall the OS without needing physical access to those systems.

We found the AMD Management Console was well laid out and easy to use. The at-your-fingertips task and alert icons help IT teams monitor AMD PRO system health and remotely manage those systems. We also found setting up the OOB capabilities in the AMD PRO scenario was easier than in the Intel vPro scenario because we didn’t have to obtain a third-party signed certificate for provisioning. The AMD Provisioning tool uses self-signed certificates for full OOB provisioning.

IT efficiency and fleet manageability

Managing a fleet can be a challenging and time-consuming effort for your IT team. But, with the right in-band management tools, your admins can finish their device management tasks faster and focus on other strategic endeavors.

Dell Management Portal for Intune is a cloud-based bridge for Dell Services and pre-installed software and security solutions. IT admins can view device information, access BIOS passwords and BitLocker keys, publish select Dell apps to their Intune environment, and manage assignments in Intune. From the BIOS Policies tab, IT admins can create, publish, and manage custom BIOS setting for a group or fleet of Dell devices via Microsoft Intune.¹⁰ In addition to configuring and saving up to 488 BIOS settings as a new Dell BIOS Policy, IT admins can set unique-per-device, randomized BIOS passwords for that policy—“an industry-first capability delivered by Dell.”¹¹

Dell Client Device Manager (DCDM) is a unified approach to device management. Instead of juggling multiple Dell applications (e.g., Dell Command Update and Dell Trusted Device), IT admins can manage update- and security-based device management tasks from a single application. With DCDM, IT admins can deploy an Update Module (for BIOS, drivers, or firmware for PCs and docks), a Security Module (to verify BIOS and firmware or detect common Vulnerabilities and Exposures [CVEs]), or a Telemetry Module (customer-approved sharing of device data with Dell) across a fleet of Dell devices.¹² IT admins can also use DCDM to automate security and compliance checks.¹³

We completed two common device management tasks on the three Copilot+ PCs. Key takeaways:

• For the Dell AI PC, we accomplished both tasks within the Dell Management Portal connected to Intune.
• For the HP AI PC, we deployed a BIOS policy through HP’s Intune partner portal. To deploy software, we had to download HP Support Assistant through the HP website, package it, and deploy it through Intune.
• For the Lenovo AI PC, software deployment was faster because Lenovo Commercial Vantage is an app you can download from Microsoft Store that allows admins to skip signing into Intune. However, we had to manually deploy a BIOS policy using software we downloaded from Lenovo and published to Intune.

From an IT perspective, both tasks were more straightforward with the Dell device management tools—they were all in one place and didn’t require any fancy footwork to accomplish the tasks.

We also found that it was easy to see which applications needed updating through the “one click update” capability on Dell Management Portal for Intune. At the time of testing, the HP portal didn’t have this capability, and Lenovo didn’t have a partner portal at all.

Dell Command | Endpoint Configure for Microsoft Intune (DCECMI) provides a secure way to craft and manage BIOS configurations within the Microsoft Intune portal based on specific security, privacy, or performance needs. IT admins can then assign these custom BIOS configuration profiles to appropriate device groups.¹⁴

With DCECMI, an IT admin can also obtain reports of their client devices’ configuration status, deploy unique-per-Dell-client-device BIOS passwords, report Dell client device BIOS configuration status, and configure Dell systems BIOS settings with zero-touch deployment.

But it’s not enough to know how much time you can save managing a single device using Dell Management tools through the Intune partner portal.

To quantify the hands-on IT admin time a company could save by using Dell Management solutions over a manual approach, we measured the time it would take to complete a single workflow–featuring BIOS configuration and app installation—both ­with and without the Dell Management Portal.

We derived the extrapolated times in Table 3 from the results in Table 2. With Dell Management Portal for Intune, we had to perform a one-time BIOS configuration and application installation, which took a total of 3 minutes and 8 seconds. Adding devices after the initial setup required about 2 seconds of hands-on time per device. By contrast, manual configuration was a heavy lift right from the start.

We calculate that companies can drastically reduce the admin load when they incorporate Dell Management tools into their daily routines.

Conclusion

We found that AMD Ryzen^™ AI PRO processor-powered Dell devices were easy to manage in the tasks we tested. For in-band management, we used Intune and the Dell Management Portal. For OOB management, we used the AMD Management Console. We also found that, in common management scenarios, the AMD platform delivered similar capabilities to the Intel vPro systems we tested. For these common management scenarios, IT managers can enjoy similarly simple and effective management whether using Intel- or AMD-powered devices.