Intel
is rolling out its newest business PC processors, the Core vPro, that combine
the chip maker’s “Sandy Bridge”
architecture with the latest generation of its on-board management and security
capabilities.
Intel
unveiled the 2nd Generation Core vPro i5 and i7 processors March 17,
with Rick Echevarria, vice president of the Intel Architecture Group and
general manager of Intel’s Business Client Platform Division, saying the capabilities
in vPro 2.0 will enable PCs with the processors to act in a hub role,
providing the link for such devices as smartphones and tablets.
That
strategy comes as sales of smartphones and tablets skyrocket, and increasingly
are becoming tools used in the enterprise. In addition, some research firms,
like Gartner, are predicting that tablet sales will cut
into the PC business. However, others, including
Canalsys, are grouping tablets with PCs when considering its computer
numbers.
Having
such capabilities is increasingly important in a rapidly changing IT field,
which is having to deal with such trends as cloud computing and virtualization,
greater mobility and the ongoing consumerization of corporate IT, Echevarria
said during a Webcast.
“The
line between personal and professional [computing] is blurring,” he said.
Intel
officials said Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo and Fujitsu are among the PC
makers expected to introduce systems powered by the new Core vPro chips.
For more, read the eWEEK article: Intel Brings vPro 2.0 Features to ‘Sandy Bridge’ Platform.