Release Notes

RELEASE NOTE

Introducing Apple Business Manager Connection in ITH

We are excited to provide IT Hub customers with a self-serve opportunity to connect their Apple Business Manager (ABM) account to Electric!

By connecting an ABM account to Electric, we can ensure that Apple devices purchased through our hardware store are automatically enrolled in the customer’s ABM account as a company managed device.

If you are not familiar with ABM, the platform allows customers to perform a variety of management and security actions, such as locking devices, on company managed devices. Company managed devices will also automatically enroll in MDM if ABM is configured to do so. Click here to learn more about Apple Business Manager.

Key Features:

• ABM Connection: Customers can access the Settings / Device Management area in IT Hub to connect their ABM to Electric.
• ABM Connection Status When Purchasing: Customers purchasing Apple items can see the status of their ABM connection when placing orders. Customers can connect their ABM within the storefront, if needed.
• Manage ABM Connection: Customers can edit or remove their ABM connection, if needed.

What’s Changed:

• Customers were previously coordinating with the Product Support team to connect their ABM to Electric. Customers can now do this step themselves, if they are comfortable doing so.
• Customers purchasing Apple devices will be prompted to connect their ABM (or opt out) before placing an order if they have not done so already; this precautionary step prevents devices from ever getting into an unmanaged, unsecured state.

Why It Matters:

We are very excited to streamline the process of connecting ABM to Electric! By making ABM connection easy, we can greatly improve the security posture for the customer by ensuring that purchased Apple devices are ready-to-use and secure from the very start.

RELEASE NOTE

Improving your MDM Time to value with IT Hub

Get up and running with MDM via your Electric IT Hub in a matter of minutes with our newly launched self-service MDM enrollment. Self-service enrollment makes it so that the admin user at your business can begin the process to get valuable MDM protection on their devices in a matter of minutes – it is easier than ever for you to follow our quick five step guide for your MDM to be ready.

Key Features:

• Step by Step Guidance: As soon as the admin user gets access to IT Hub settings, they can proceed in the Device Management independently to complete the MDM set up with the five step guidance.
• Know ASAP when MDM is ready for installation: As soon as your enrollment is complete, you will be ready to get your MDM on to your device
• Send an email to your employees for enrollment: After completing the initial enrollment, you will be ready to send the invite to your employees. They will receive an email instruction them to download MDM.

How It Works:

A step by step guide will help the admin user at your business go through the enrollment process. After following the steps successfully, your MDM will be ready to deploy via the Electric desktop app with the right device policies already applied. Please note, the five steps are only required for Apple devices and will require the business to have a functioning Apple ID ready. If you are in a Windows only device environment, the step up will be only one confirmation step.

Why It Matters:

• We are all about making your IT set up fast and easy without advanced technical required. MDM is beneficial to your business for many reasons and this new set up gets you to value faster than ever.
• You don’t have to wait or wonder if you have the correct policies required

RELEASE NOTE

Easy Navigation to Apps & Helpful Links in the Desktop App

Introducing a streamlined way to access essential resources directly from the Electric desktop app. Our new Helpful Links feature provides quick, one-click access to important websites, tools, and applications, enhancing productivity and efficiency.

Key Features:

• Clickable Icons: Each Helpful Link and Application URL is represented by a clickable icon, making it easy to identify and access the resources you need.
• Automatic Tray Icon: The Electric app is always available in the tray of both Apple and Windows devices on startup.
• Easy Access to Support Center and Gigawatt AI: Quick access to the IT Hub and Gigawatt AI through the Desktop App.
• Search Bar for Easy Navigation: Filter displayed links, apps, and custom apps using a search bar.

How It Works:

The Helpful Links feature enhances your Electric app experience by providing quick access to essential resources right after installation. Here’s a step-by-step walkthrough of how it works:

• Installation Process: Begin by installing the Electric app using the standard installation steps. If installing as a Pro customer, MDM installation will also need completed.
• Post Installation: Once the installation is complete, you will be redirected to the Electric app
• Access Helpful Links and App URLs: You can click on icons to open a new tab with the corresponding app or helpful link.

Why It Matters:

By integrating Helpful Links into the Electric app, we aim to streamline your workflow and provide immediate access to essential resources right from the moment you complete the installation. This feature not only saves time but also enhances overall productivity by reducing the need for external bookmarks or multiple browser tabs.

RELEASE NOTE

Patching and OS Update Panel

Gain a deeper understanding of your operating system’s health and ensure your device is running well. We are excited to be rolling out a new feature included in your Electric MDM offering on the Pro: we will now include major version patching for Mac OS.

For customers on all plans: we will be also showing enhanced operating system (OS) data for your employees after they download the Electric Desktop App.

As we’ve seen at Electric and across other industries, it is too often viruses or attacks that hurt businesses happen because a device was running vulnerable software when a newer, safer version was available. Keeping your devices patched to the latest supported version is one of the most cost-effective practices to improve your security posture and employee productivity.

Key Features:

• OS Panel in Device Overview: Within Device Overview, customers will see a breakdown of their OS specifically in terms of current and optimal versions.
• Patching for Mac Devices: Employees will get a pop up on their device screen. Employees will need to follow the steps from the “Update Device” button.

What’s Changed:

• Macs will now be patched for major versions (no visual change expected in IT Hub): The additional Mac patching we are introducing now is needed to go beyond minor version and app updates to include major OS version updates.
• Additional data appears in Device Overview: Clear end of life and OS supports dates will now be included in all Device screens after downloading the Electric Desktop App.

Tech Notes:

• Mac Patching will be applied on creation of the MDM instance alongside the Electric default security controls, there are no additional steps
• Windows devices were already being patched for the latest software updates based on the MDM policies we installed when you started your MDM journey with Electric.

Why It Matters:

• Keeping devices running the latest OS is important for your business. Updated OS versions often contain security patches and fixes that protect your system from vulnerabilities and threats. By staying current, you reduce the risk of malware or cyberattacks. Second, newer OS versions typically offer improved performance and compatibility with newer software and hardware, ensuring that devices run smoothly and efficiently – saving employees time and money on hardware.

RELEASE NOTE

Detailed Hardware Request Tracking

We are excited to announce an enhancement to our hardware purchase request tracking page in IT Hub which will provide even more information about the status and details of your requests!

What’s Changed:

• Consolidated view: Requests were previously tracked on a per-item basis. You now have a “roll-up” view of the entire order and overall status, with the option to drill in to see the status for each item, if desired.

Additional Features:

• Delivery date An estimated delivery date is displayed for each item in an order, when available.
• Tracking numbers: Tracking numbers are linked directly to the carrier’s tracking page for even more detail.

Why It Matters:

We understand the importance of making sure your employees have the equipment they need to be productive and secure. We hope this enhancement, along with our existing set of status update emails, provides you with even more insight into the status and details of your hardware requests so that you can make sure your employees are getting what they need.

RELEASE NOTE

Security Solutions Page

We are excited to introduce a new feature in IT Hub that enhances the user experience by allowing admin users to see data directly from the add-on security solutions installed on their devices. This page provides easy access to this data, improving productivity within the platform.

Key Features:

• Security Solutions Page: Admin users can now access a dedicated page solely for their security solution data. This release will focus on Threatdown data where a quick overview is shown of what actions Threatdown has taken as well as a table of all devices that have the software installed.
• Submit a ticket for more help: Admin users can now submit a ‘Get help with Threatdown’ ticket directly from this page, instead of having to navigate to the Support Center.

What’s Changed:

• Enhanced accessibility to security solution data: By showing Threatdown data directly to admins within the IT Hub, they are now able to see this data without having to navigate and log in to the individual Partner Portal. Seeing this data also provides peace of mind to the admin that Threatdown is working and provides a quick overview of what has been actioned on.
• Security Tab/ Purchase Security Page: A ‘Security’ tab has been added to the left-hand navigation bar, and the ‘Discover’ page has been renamed to ‘Purchase security’.

Why It Matters:

This feature significantly enhances the user experience within IT Hub, empowering admins with greater accessibility to their security solution data. By centralizing this data into IT Hub, we aim to provide the users with all necessary data in one place, without having them have to log into each Security Solution Portal.

RELEASE NOTE

Unenroll Devices

What’s new?

A lot can happen with your devices. This is why we have introduced the functionality to unenroll your device from the Electric Desktop App and Mobile Device Management (MDM).

Key Features:

• Initiate an Unenroll from the Employee Profile (Admin Only): Admin users can visit the employee profile of the employee who wants to unenroll the device from the existing Desktop App. Admin users will see an option to send an email to the employee with the unenroll instructions and URL.

What’s Changed:

• Unenroll action is added, in addition to Lock action: Employee profiles are the home for device actions related to your employee’s device. On the device card of the profile now, the admin will see both options to initiate a device lock and unenroll a device.

Tech Notes:

• Unenroll under the hood: Unenroll will remove the Electric Desktop App and MDM if you are on the Pro plan. The employee will need to carefully follow the instructions on the email from the IT Hub platform to successfully complete the unenroll. The device card on the employee profile should return to the empty state when the unenroll is finished.

Why It Matters:

Completing all functionality – unenroll and enroll – for our device actions ensures a seamless user experience and allows the admin user to self-serve their employees when they need to swap out or deprovision a device.

RELEASE NOTE

Introducing Your IT Plan: Customize Your IT Enrollment with Electric

What’s new?

The Electric IT Hub strives to help you meet your unique IT needs. From the moment your admin first logs in to your ongoing engagement with Electric, Your IT Plan is there to guide you and ensure you are meeting your IT goals.

Key Features:

• IT Intake Form (Admin Only): Admin users start their engagement with Electric by responding to 7 questions meant to be completed in under 3 min. Responses will determine which actions we ask the admin user to complete and in which order to start getting the most value from IT Hub.
• Your IT Plan (Admin Only): This is your new landing page. It is a place you can return to at any time to make sure you’re on target to complete both “essential” and “suggested” actions. IT Plan helps connect required actions to your “why”. For example, if you told us during the initial intake you wanted help with day-to-day employee management, IT Hub will get you started by adding your employees and introducing you to the employee center features for your coworkers.

What’s Changed:

• Personalizing the product from first login: By gathering essential information after login, the IT hub can tailor the product to your individual goals and unique technology stack. This will enhance your overall user experience through customized features and content, and grow with your IT journey
• Concise homepage experience: By landing on Your IT Plan, you can easily prioritize key information and actions to keep you on track to your IT goal.

Why It Matters:

Keeping on task with the different parts of your IT operations will be smoother once you have a destination to enter and quickly get a snapshot of how you are progressing toward your IT goals. This page in IT Hub lays the groundwork for something that will evolve to be more personalized, tailored, and allow for benchmarking in future releases.

RELEASE NOTE

Introducing Asset Management

What’s new?

We are excited to announce the release of our latest feature aimed at optimizing asset tracking and management in the Electric IT Hub. Introducing the Asset Management Module. This new addition brings comprehensive tools and functionalities to IT Hub, empowering users to efficiently monitor and manage their organization’s assets.

Key Features:

• Effortless Asset Creation and Modification:
  • Seamlessly create and update asset records directly within IT Hub, capturing essential information such as asset type, name, assignee, purchase details, condition, and more.
• Instantly Access Your Company’s Device Inventory:
  • Stay informed about your organization’s device inventory as soon as your team members log into the Electric app on their computers.
• Flexible Condition Setting for Assets:
  • Gain clarity on asset usability and maintenance requirements by setting conditions such as “Damaged,” “Used – Good,” “Used – Fair,” “Used – Poor,” and “New.”
• Transparent Asset Status Tracking:
  • Track asset availability and usage with prominently displayed status indicators.
  • Easily set and edit asset status for real-time updates and accurate tracking.
• Intuitive Search and Filtering Capabilities:
  • Quickly locate specific assets using powerful search, filter, and sort functionalities based on criteria such as type, assignee, status, and custom asset ID.
• Comprehensive History Tracking:
  • Maintain a detailed log of asset ownership changes for compliance and audit purposes.
  • Access a complete history of asset changes, including user details, timestamps, and actions taken.
• Efficient Bulk Asset Upload:
  • Simplify the process of adding multiple assets at once by uploading assets via a CSV file.

How It Works:

1. Navigate to the Asset Management Module within IT Hub.
2. Easily create, view, and edit asset records with intuitive user interface controls.
3. Utilize search, filter, and sort functionalities to quickly locate and manage assets.
4. Access detailed asset history logs for comprehensive tracking and compliance monitoring.
5. Streamline asset upload processes by leveraging bulk upload capabilities.

Why It Matters:

This enhancement empowers organizations with greater visibility and control over their asset management processes. By providing comprehensive tools for asset tracking, modification, and history logging, the Asset Management Module enables organizations to optimize resource utilization, enhance compliance adherence, and streamline administrative workflows.

RELEASE NOTE

Hardware purchase request confirmation automatic emails

What’s new?

We are excited to introduce a set of “Order received!” confirmation emails that will be sent shortly after equipment has been purchased through Turbine or the Electric IT Hub.

Key Features:

• Order acknowledgment email to the requestor: Users who place a hardware purchase request will be sent a confirmation email detailing what was requested, where it will be sent, and approximate timelines for shipment. We also let them know that additional communications will be sent to them when the order ships and what to do if they need assistance with the order.
• Hardware purchased on your behalf email to receivers: When an admin places an order on another employee’s behalf, we will notify the employee to let them know what’s coming, where it will be sent, and inform them that tracking information will also be provided once the order has shipped.
  • Note: We will not send these emails when the order is related to an employee’s onboarding as those tend to be placed well in advance of an employee starting with the company. In those cases, the first email an employee will receive is the “Order shipped” email with tracking information.

Why It Matters:

By adding “Order received!” confirmation emails to our already robust set of status update emails and in-app request tracking, our customers can experience peace of mind knowing exactly where their orders stand throughout the process.

RELEASE NOTE

Enhanced Device Recommendations Powered by Gigawatt AI

What’s New?

We are thrilled to announce a significant advancement in our platform’s capabilities: Gigawatt, our powerful AI assistant, can now provide personalized device recommendations tailored to individual user roles and preferences within our hardware store.

Key Features:

• Natural Language Processing: Users can effortlessly interact with Gigawatt by asking questions in natural language. For example: “What device would you recommend for a senior product manager?” or “Which laptop suits a graphic designer?”

How It Works:

1. User Query: Users can initiate a conversation with Gigawatt through our platform’s interface or chat functionality.
2. Contextual Analysis: Gigawatt processes the query
3. Recommendation Generation: Based on the analyzed context, Gigawatt generates personalized device recommendations from our extensive hardware store inventory.
4. Presentation: Users receive tailored recommendations directly within the platform interface, along with detailed insights and specifications for a recommended device
5. Purchase: The user is given a link to the hardware store to go purchase the device

Why It Matters:

This enhancement revolutionizes the device procurement experience by providing users with intelligent, data-driven recommendations that align with their specific needs and roles. By leveraging the power of Gigawatt AI, users can make informed decisions when selecting devices, ensuring optimal performance and productivity in their respective roles.

RELEASE NOTE

Introducing Application URLs on the Helpful Links Page

What’s New?

Employees can now view and access their associated Application URLs directly on the Helpful Links page. This feature provides users with a seamless Single Sign-On (SSO)-like experience, improving accessibility and productivity within the platform.

Key Features:

• Applications Section: End users can now access a dedicated section titled “Applications” on the Helpful Links page.
• Icon Display: Users will see icons representing their associated applications, making identifying and accessing them easier.
• Click-to-Open Functionality: By clicking on an application icon, users can effortlessly open the corresponding App URL in a new browser tab.

What’s Changed:

• Enhanced Accessibility: Adding the Applications section on the Helpful Links page streamlines the process of accessing associated applications, fostering a more efficient workflow for end users.
• Improved Navigation: Users can now seamlessly transition between IT Hub and their associated applications without the need for manual URL entry or navigation.

RELEASE NOTE

Introducing Keeper to the Discover Page in IT Hub

What’s New?

Keeper has been added to the Discover page within IT Hub, offering users a comprehensive feature to explore and potentially purchase Keeper’s cutting-edge cybersecurity solutions.

Key Features:

• Streamlined Discovery: Users can now access detailed information about Keeper’s password management solutions directly within the Discover page.
• Educational Content: The module provides valuable insights into password security, empowering users to make informed decisions about safeguarding their online identities and sensitive information.
• Seamless Navigation: Users can easily navigate through the module to learn more about Keeper’s offerings and the value they bring to businesses.

RELEASE NOTE

Admin Account Creation Reminders

What’s New?

We are excited to introduce a new feature aimed at ensuring administrators on Electric’s IT Hub never miss the opportunity to create their accounts. With this release, admins will receive timely reminders until they successfully create their accounts.

Key Features:

• Automated Reminder System: Administrators who haven’t yet created their accounts will receive reminder emails every 3 days until the 15-day mark is reached.
• Persistent Engagement: The reminder system ensures that admins stay engaged with IT Hub and don’t miss out on the benefits of their admin privileges.
• User-Friendly Experience: The reminders are designed to be helpful and unobtrusive, gently nudging admins to take action without inundating them with unnecessary communication.

How IT Works:

• Initial Reminder: Administrators who have not created their accounts will receive an email reminder after 3 days of inactivity.
• Subsequent Reminders: Reminders will continue to be sent every 3 days until the 15-day mark is reached, totaling 5 reminders.
• Cessation of Reminders: Once 15 days have passed (after 5 reminders), further reminder emails will not be sent to the administrator.

RELEASE NOTE

Enhanced Invoicing

What’s New?

You can now view and download invoices directly from the Billing tab.

Key Features:

• Accessible Invoicing: Administrators can now easily access and review their invoices directly within the Billing tab of the platform.
• Convenient Viewing Options: Each invoice is presented in a table format, providing a clear overview of billing details such as the amount due, billing period, and payment status.
• PDF Download Capability: Administrators have the option to download individual invoices as PDF files for offline viewing and record-keeping purposes.

How IT Works:

1. Navigate to the Billing tab within the admin dashboard.
2. A table displaying all invoices associated with the account will be visible.
3. Click on the desired invoice to view its details.
4. For offline access, simply click the download button to save the invoice as a PDF file.

RELEASE NOTE

Streamlined Entity Creation Navigation

What’s New?

Easily create a new entity with enhanced creation navigation. Now, admin users can jump to the creation page for any entity type (e.g. employees, applications, groups)  by searching for the name of that type of entity.

Key Features:

• Efficient Navigation: Admin users can now expedite the creation process by simply searching for the desired entity type using the search bar and being directed to its creation page.
• Time-Saving Functionality: This feature eliminates the need for manual navigation, saving valuable time for administrators who frequently create various entity types within the system.

How IT Works:

1. Log in to IT Hub as an Admin
2. Click the search bar located at the top of the page
3. Enter the keyword “new [Entity type]” into the search bar (e.g., “new employee,” “new group,” “new application”).
4. The system will recognize the search query and automatically direct the user to the creation page for the specified entity type.

RELEASE NOTE

Enhanced Employee Search

What’s New?

Find your employees just got easier: administrators now can search for employees by name, email, or job title.

Key Features:

• Streamlined Employee Search: Administrators can quickly locate employees within the platform by entering their name, email address, or job title into the search bar.
• Efficient Navigation: With this new functionality, administrators can save time and effort by swiftly finding the exact employee they need to manage or assist.

How IT Works:

1. Login to the IT Hub
2. Locate the search bar at the top of the page.
3. Enter the name, email address, or job title of the desired employee.
4. The system will display relevant matches, allowing administrators to select the appropriate employee profile.