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Myth #8: There is no clear entry point. (cont’d)
Sensitive users
Less sensitive users
Combination
•The first step in determining how you want to apply PC power management is to determine your approach.
•In conversations with IT professionals and vendors, it became clear that PC power management is all about timing – in particular, when and how often PC power management will go into effect.
•With that in mind, Forrester recommends that organizations first identify their “time-based” approach to PC power management. And we see three common time-based approaches which include: "scheduled," "always-on," and "hybrid“.
•It’s important to note that PC power management is not one-size-fits-all, so make your approach should be based on user sensitivity to PC downtime, not necessarily ultimate savings. Let’s walk through each of these approaches with some real-life examples:
•Scheduled. To address you most sensitive users, the “Scheduled” approach is likely best. This is where PC power management is activated at a scheduled time of the day.
•Miami-Dade County Public Schools is a great example of this where they use BigFix’s power management software to turn PCs off after 11pm. This can be tailored for schools not offering night classes where PCPM is activated earlier.
•Always-on. For less sensitive users, consider the “Always-on” approach where PC power management is activated after periods of inactivity.
•GE is a good example of this where monitors are turned off after 15 minutes; hard drives are turned off after 30 minutes; system standby is enabled after 2 hours; and hibernation is enabled after 3 hours.
•Hybrid. When you have a combination of highly sensitive and less sensitive users, consider the “Hybrid” approach where you employ both the “scheduled” and “always-on” approaches.
•Washington Mutual is a great example of this where the “Scheduled” approach is applied to PCs of highly sensitive users only when the workday end, so after 6pm (such as those customer facing staff at retail branches). But for less sensitive users in the back-office, the “Always-on” approach goes into effect after periods of inactivity – monitors turn off after 20 minutes, and PCs going into standby after 30 minutes.