Intel Announces New ‘vPro’ Brand

On Monday, Intel announced its new vPro brand, meant to boost desktop computer security and manageability, as well as decrease the amount of energy those PCs consume, according to the group’s release.

The technologies are expected to hit the market in the second half of 2006, and they’ll contain features that will be built into an upcoming microprocessor and into the platform chipset, an accessory.

The cost of the new technologies was not made public.

“Intel vPro technology will bring together world-class innovations through the processor, chipsets, networking and software,” said William Swope, Intel’s vice president and director of Digital Enterprise Brand Management, in the release. “This technology significantly advances desktop PCs and will quite simply offer businesses security and manageability like never before—all in one of the most powerful and energy-efficient PCs in the market.”

Intel said vPro contains an updated version of its Active Management Technology, which enables users to quarantine infected computers before they can affect a network and notify IT when threats are eliminated. The new offering also features the company’s Virtualization Technology, which allows users to break a single PC down into separate secured sections for tamper-resistant service environments, or partitions.

In addition, Intel announced its plans to work with Symantec to further bolster the security measures within the new offering, and it said vPro will be offered within the coming year in products from Adobe, Cisco, Computer Associates, Lenovo, Microsoft and Novell, among others.

For related news coverage, read Intel Expands R&D in Germany to Multicore Processors.

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