Intel Unveils vPro Brand for Business PCs

Another week, another sticker: Intel's new vPro technology promises to improve security, manageability, and virtualization for business PCs.

Soon it’s going to be hard to figure out your new PC’s capabilities with all the stickers which will festoon their cases: today Intelannounced its new vPro technology, a new brand which will offer improved manageability and security features in collaboration with software developers and PC makers.

Intel’s forthcoming Conroe dual-core 64-bit desktop processor will be at the heart of the vPro brand, offering performance improvements at lowered power consumption as well as key features enabling improved virtualization and management features. According to Intel, once software and hardware vendors capitalize on vPro technologies, businesses will be able to reduce support costs through improves asset management and troubleshooting, even when systems are turned off or have crashed operating systems or hard drives. The second generation of Intel’s Active Management Technology (AMT) will be able to isolate virus and worm-infected infected PCs and alert IT when threats are removed.

Intel Virtualization Technology (VT) enables users to run multiple operating systems on the same hardware in protected environments. With smooth virtualizaiton, IT managers can make tamper-resistant partitions which operate independently from PC users. As an example, in conjunction with the vPro announcement security developer Symantec announced plans to create a virtualized environment independent from a PC’s main operating system for the sole purpose of managing PC security.

Intel plans to roll out vPro in the second of of 2006; vPro-capable from PC manufacturers systems will sport a snazzy new stickers. It remains to be seen whether the business community will embrace vPro as a technology; Intel’s record with technology brands is a little spotty, with the Centrino brand having offered concrete features to consumers, but the difficult-to-articulate, lifestyle-oriented Viiv band largely falling flat in the marketplace.