Insight Policies
Insights have been enhanced to offer even greater insight into your client environment with expanded policies for hardware and software to provide more freedom to apply standards to managed assets to identify misalignments.
Following is the list of Policies that can be created:
For workstations/servers
Age
Configured backups (BackupRadar subscription required)
Manufacturer
Memory (RAM) specifications
Person assigned
Operating system status
Processor manufacturer
Software
Total storage specifications
Warranty
For virtual machines
Configured backups (BackupRadar subscription required)
Memory (RAM) specifications
Operating system status
Software
Total storage specifications
Here are a few examples of what Personalized Insights can now do:
Identify Windows 11 upgrade-eligible workstations that meet the recommended storage and memory requirements
Consider upgrading or replacing devices that do not meet the recommended Windows 11 requirements in order to generate revenue
Encourage the replacement of devices that don't meet the standards of the client's environment
Single-out devices with known critical vulnerabilities from a specific manufacturer
Identify devices that don’t have a specific antivirus installed or are running deprecated software that poses a security risk
Compile a list of old workstations with poor storage and memory, prioritize their replacement over devices with better specifications, and remove the most risk-ridden assets from the client environment
List old virtual machines that have poor storage and memory and remove the most risky assets from the client environment.
Custom operators can only use one type of policy
You can only use one type of policy with one of each operator (can't have the same policy with the same operator).
Policy Operators
Running an MSP includes surfacing asset risk and communicating with clients that may or may not be motivated to take action. Using a policy's directionality (operator), you can identify which machines are performing well or poorly based on any number-based policy.
So, instead of solely focusing on the negative, new Insight policy operators let you get more specific with the data you pull from ScalePad Lifecycle Manager, including identifying assets that already meet the standards of the client environment or meet some of the recommended Windows 11 requirements.
Depending on which policy you choose, available operators may vary.
Following is the list of all operators (with associated Policy) for workstations/servers at your disposal:
Age: is over/is under
Configured backups: is found/is not found
Manufacturer: is/is not (specified manufacturer from dropdown)
Memory: is over/is under
Person assigned: is found/is not found
Operating system: is supported/is unsupported
Processor manufacturer: is/is not (specified manufacturer from dropdown
Software: includes/does not include (specified software from dropdown)
Total Storage: is under/is over
Warranty: is expired/is not expired
Following is the list of all operators (with associated policy) for virtual machines at your disposal:
Configured backups: is found/is not found
Memory: is over/is under
Operating system: is supported/is unsupported
Software: includes/does not include (specified software from dropdown)
Total Storage: is under/is over
What can you do with Personalized Insights Policies and Operators?
We have outlined a few examples of how you can use Lifecycle Manager's new Personalized Insights Policies with Insights Policy Operators:
Use Case | Personalized Insight Configuration | Insight Result |
Verify servers have a configured backup policy - (*Backup Radar Integration required) | - Server - Configured backups - Is/Not found | Show servers without a configured backup policy. |
Verify virtual machines have a configured backup policy - (*Backup Radar Integration required) | - Virtual Machine - Configured backups - Is/Not found | Show virtual machines without a configured backup policy. |
Surface all workstations with low memory | - Workstation - Memory - Is under 8 GB | Show workstations with under 8GB of memory (RAM) installed. |
Find devices with known critical vulnerabilities | - Workstation - Manufacturer (Dell) - Software/Windows 8.1 | Show workstations with known vulnerabilities ready to be patched. |
Ensure endpoint protection is installed | - Server - Software - Does not Include - Huntress Agent | Find servers without Huntress Agent installed. |
Identify a preliminary list of workstations potentially eligible for Windows 11 upgrade | - Workstation - Software includes Windows 10 - Memory (Is over) 4 GB - Total storage (Is over) 128 GB | Show workstations that meet preliminary Windows 11 recommended requirements*. |
List all aging servers without warranty coverage | - Servers - Age (Is over) 7 yrs - Warranty (Is) expired | Surface aging servers without warranty coverage. |
Identify workstations negatively affecting performance and experience | - Workstations - Age (Is over) 5 yrs - Memory (Is under) 4 GB | Drive environment standardization and replace aging assets. |
*We understand that Windows 11 has a lot more requirements than the policies listed in the article. This example is meant to show policies that only provide a preliminary list, rather than a true list of Windows 11 requirements.
The following examples of personalized insights (from the Personalized Insight Configuration column in the previous table) show insights with additional policies added.
The policy details of each insight can be viewed when you click the Insight tile.