We continue to see nowadays the wave of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), where corporations are allowing employees to buy devices and bring them to enterprise for e-mail, calendar, contacts and even line-of-business applications. This new chapter in IT brings increased productivity for mobile workers while attracting new millennium (or Gen Y) talent in a competitive workforce.
While embracing BYOD positions IT as a key partner to Line of Business, it also brings risk to what matters to IT: reliability, security, stability and manageability. These four requirements should always be taken into consideration when defining a business platform.
The Intel® vPro™ platform has made it easier for IT managers to find and choose their business class devices since 2006. With more than one hundred million units in the installed base, Intel vPro enhances enterprise reliability, manageability, security, and stability with demonstrable ROI. As of last year, Intel offers vPro not only in our performance product line, such as Core i5 and Core i7, but also in our new Intel Core M vPro mobile platform, which is targeted at premium tablets and mobile 2 in 1 and clamshell devices.
An OEM will only pass the vPro brand requirements if it has all the components, which are:
- Intel® SIPP (Intel® Stable Image Platform Program), a published set of repeatable Intel components and drivers that are available to buy and use for at least 5 quarters starting at time of the business platform launch.
- Intel® Active Management Technology (AMT) which allows IT to remotely access clients through a secure channel irrespective of power or OS state, address issues while the user is online, automatically patch, repair, and upgrade OS/apps, take inventory of client-side software and hardware, and also remotely manage/unlock encrypted drives.
- Strengthened security that maps to IT pillars such as malware protection, resiliency, identity protection and data protection. The Intel® vPro™ platform features several technologies like Intel® Trusted Execution Technology, Intel® Identity Protection Technology, and Intel® Data Protection Technology. Intel recommends also the use of Intel® SSD Pro series for maximum security.
Each OEM has its own business-ready product line that offers vPro. For example, Dell has its Latitude line, HP their Elite Line and Lenovo their Think line. Besides the vPro sticker, there are other features that define a business class device such as operating system (ex: Windows 8.1 Pro), rugged designs, extended warranty and support, docking solutions for additional I/O such as external displays, biometric authentication and more.
In my next post, I will share how Intel® vPro™ platforms not only meet IT needs but also bring an outstanding experience to the user.
For more information on Intel® vPro™ please visit www.intel.com/vpro