Friday, 8 September 2006

Intel Premieres vPro Desktop Platform

Intel has introduced Intel vPro technology, intended to improve computing performance and security and reduce costs. "Very simply, vPro is a change of course in the way businesses and IT managers view and use PCs," said Robert Crooke , vice president and general manager of Intel's Business Client Group. "We are packing in features that address what plagues businesses most—security threats, cost of ownership, resource allocation, asset management and uptime—into a single platform that is powered by the greatest multi-core processor in the world."

The Intel Core 2 Duo processor is at the heart of Intel vPro technology. Intel vPro technology also includes the second generation of Intel Active Management Technology, Intel Virtualisation Technology, the new Intel Q965 Express chipset and the Intel 82566DM Gigabit Network Connection.

Intel's customer solutions group regional manager, Brett Hannath said speed is not the primary reason enterprises buy desktops, but rather the ease with which they can be managed and secured. The company is hoping that enterprises' requests for tenders for PC fleets will include vPro as a standard requirement.

"Software can manage fleets of PCs but if the PC is off, can these tools respond?" Hannath queried. "With vPro, companies can check their assets even if the power is off. IT departments can wake up PCs, push updates, and then shut them down, all overnight."

By integrating management processors into the hardware, vPro lets administrators remotely access the PC 'console' so 'even if there is a blue screen of death' the PC can be controlled.

Hannath said vPro has been in development for the past three years and has software installed in the computers firmware that integrates with enterprise management tools from companies like Altiris and BMC Software.