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What is Blancco PreInstall, and How Can It Help Enterprise Businesses Erase EOL Assets More Efficiently?

Although not often discussed, Blancco PreInstall is a powerful data erasure solution that allows enterprises to both increase their efficiency levels and build flexibility. Blancco PreInstall can be used for creating an MSI package that contains the Blancco Drive Eraser software ISO inside. The MSI file can be executed in Windows-based environments to launch the erasure and is also compatible with Blancco Drive Eraser ISO image files.

Katie Jefcoat - Blancco Author

Katie Moss Jefcoat Katie has launched and supported marketing campaigns for B2B technology companies since 2011. From 2016 to 2021, Katie served Blancco in the roles of content manager and senior product marketing manager, communicating the features and benefits of Blancco products, evaluating market and competitive trends, supporting sales enablement, and representing the voice of the customer.

At Blancco, we’re always looking for ways to help our customers work more efficiently, whether that’s through our wide support of global erasure standards and drives types, to our Mobile Workflows for effectively routing mobile devices. One way that enterprises are using Blancco tools to increase both their efficiency levels and build flexibility is Blancco PreInstall, a tool you may not have heard much about. Blancco PreInstall can be used for creating an MSI package that contains the Blancco Drive Eraser software ISO inside. The MSI file can be executed in Windows-based environments to launch the erasure. It is compatible with Blancco Drive Eraser ISO image files.

Blancco PreInstall executable can be also run in Windows PE environments, either manually or using command line scripting. Blancco PreInstall installs the Blancco Drive Eraser ISO on the local drive and reboots the system to launch the Blancco Drive Eraser software.

The solution can be run remotely and allows for the programmatic configuration of Drive Eraser without using the traditional Blancco Drive Eraser Image Configuration Tool.

Blancco PreInstall can collect asset information directly from Windows and then launch the erasure directly—without requiring any changes to system settings. In this, it differs from PXE or USB booting. Because of this, there is no need to change the BIOS settings. Additionally, Blancco PreInstall can read the Wi-Fi settings in Windows and pass them off to Blancco Drive Eraser. This is very useful for remotely erasing enterprise laptops. IT admins can trigger the erasure when there is a security breach or if the laptop is lost or stolen.

How your organization can utilize Blancco PreInstall

Let’s look at how one Blancco customer, a large global technology company, is using this solution:

Within the organization, the IT department manages all employee machines using a combination of software solutions. When it comes time to erase data once the laptops have reached end-of-life and are set to be recycled or redeployed, IT admins use Microsoft SCCM to push a zip file containing Blancco PreInstall, along with a Blancco Drive Eraser image remotely. Then, they change the ISO configuration through the Windows registry settings (using a script). They do this for two reasons: 1) Some machines require a proxy to connect to the network 2) Some machines require a different erasure standard based on which country they are sitting in (e.g., BSI erasure method vs. NIST Purge erasure method).

With Blancco PreInstall, the admins can perform dynamic configuration on the fly. Once the erasure process is remotely launched and completed, the target machine is configured to shut down. A Certificate of Erasure is then sent remotely to the Blancco Management Console, where admins can then look and confirm that erasure is complete, including proper verification and certification.

Blancco PreInstall opens up an easy, flexible way to help your enterprise more efficiently manage the data erasure process for employee assets once the asset reaches end-of-life or it’s time for the employee to leave the organization. Simultaneous, remote and automated deployment methods can help your company scale across multiple global sites, while also ensuring local compliance mandates are met with a full data sanitization audit trail. Blancco Preinstall can also help with asset discovery through creation of comprehensive asset reports that detail key system information.

For more information about Blancco PreInstall, speak with your account manager, or navigate to the PreInstall page on our Knowledge Portal.

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