Intel launches new VPro brand

Intel hopes its new VPro brand for business desktop PCs makes IT managers think about security and manageability the same way Centrino made people think of wireless technology.

Intel chief executive Paul Otellini introduced the new VPro brand on Monday at a press conference. VPro stickers will start appearing over the next few months on PCs that contain Intel's Conroe processor, a new chipset and an Intel networking chip, Otellini said.

VPro is the latest example of Intel's platform strategy, in which the company is trying to attach its name to features of PCs, rather than just focusing on the raw performance of its processors. Centrino was the first example of this strategy, which combined a processor, mobile chipset and a wireless chip under a single umbrella brand. Viiv, for home entertainment PCs, was the second.

Intel likes to emphasise features like battery life and wireless connectivity with Centrino, and it plans to focus on security and manageability with VPro, Otellini said. VPro PCs come with two features called Intel Active Management Technology (AMT) and Intel Virtualization Technology (VT).

AMT allows IT managers to cut back on the number of problems that can be solved only by a visit to a user's PC, which accounts for a disproportionately large share of IT costs, Otellini said. VT offers hardware support for virtualisation software that can divide a PC into two separate partitions. This lets IT managers create secure portions of their PCs, he said.

Intel and its usual partners in the PC community plan to ship 'seed units' with the VPro brand to some customers during the current quarter, Otellini said. A wider launch of Conroe and VPro is not expected until the third quarter.