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Intel wants to make business computing, a streamlined and hassle-free experience

By Wong Chung Wee - on 20 Jan 2016, 8:00am

Intel wants to make business computing, a streamlined and hassle-free experience

(Image source: Intel)

Intel wants to make business computing, a secure and hassle-free experience by leveraging on its 6th generation vPro enterprise platform. With both hardware and software services, Intel also aims to reduce the overall cost of implementing such services. At the start of its presentation, Tom Garrison, Intel’s vice president and general manager of Business Client Platforms, highlighted four key business trends that are encapsulated in the following key phrases; workplace transformation, cyber security, move to modern operating system, and finding the right device for the job. Intel plans to ride on the trends with its 6th generation vPro enterprise platform, and central to this platform is the 6th generation Intel Core Skylake processors, with support for vPro technology.

(Image source: Intel)

These enterprise Skylake processors will enable longer battery life for laptops, thanks to the power efficiency offered by its 14nm fabrication process. Also with improvements to microarchitecture and chipset platform, computing devices based on these CPUs will operate faster, allowing enterprise users to be more productive. For more powerful machines, the market should be expecting quad-core notebooks to Xeon-powered mobile workstations. Intel was also quick to emphasized a wide selection of hardware design form factors centred around the current generation of Intel Core CPUs. For vPro solutions, there are over 100 designs to choose from. This is one key point of the workplace transformation trend where design requirements between end-user and business platforms are blurred. Hardware designed for corporate usage mimic the stylish appeal of end-user products. Tom Garrison also mentioned the Ultrabook design concepts have also been refreshed with corporate usage in mind.

(Image source: Intel)

Besides pushing for aesthetics innovations, Intel has continued to innovate for the boardroom by aiming to reduce desktop clutter. Technologies include Intel Pro WiDi, Intel WiGig and Thunderbolt 3 USB Type-C docking. In April last year, Intel Pro WiDi and Intel WiGig were showcased during the announcement of the previous generation Intel vPro CPUs. Soon after, Thunderbolt 3 was announced in June last year at Computex.

(Image source: Intel)

With regards to software services, Tom mentioned that Intel Unite has aimed for organic growth by collaborating with hardware manufacturers like ASUS, Dell and Lenovo to support Intel Unite right out of the box for their devices. Logitech is the latest to join the party and they will be offering Intel Unite-capable peripherals very soon. Intel Unite has also been refreshed with new features that include app sharing, extended display and automatic disconnect. Its platform has expanded to include collaboration and communication software like Lync and Skype. Devices operating on OSX are also supported now.

(Image source: Intel) 

The jewel on the crown is actually the new identity authentication software, Intel Authenticate. It’s actually in its preview stage where Intel is still awaiting feedback from its trial installation base. It works with all 6th generation Intel Core processors. However, those processors that support vPro technology will be able to leverage on its location-based services to make the entire authentication process seamless, without compromising security. The Intel Authenticate software can be implemented at the hardware or chipset level for 6th gen processors. This is to prevent any software-based attacks from gaining control. The Intel Authenticate supports four authentication factors; personal pin, trusted Bluetooth devices, location-based services, and biometrics. The personal pin is the oldest form of authentication where the onus is on the user to remember his password. Besides using challenge pins, Intel Authenticate can support trusted Bluetooth devices for authentication purposes. At the same time, it also supports vPro-enabled CPUs where there’s an added advantage of leveraging on its location-based services for authentication. According to Intel, it also integrates well with existing biometric systems.

(Image source: Intel)

For IT administrators, Intel Authenticate offers them the flexibility of combining the four authentication factors into different layers. They also be happy to know that Intel Authenticate is supported on network services like Microsoft Active Directory. With the popularity of BYOD schemes, Intel Authenticate also integrates with endpoint security software like McAfee ePO. This will allow IT administrators to better control the access of network services for users of unmanaged devices. For managed devices on Windows services, Intel Authenticate supports Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM).

(Image source: Intel)

Also, the Intel Small Business Advantage software has been updated to support more devices, especially portable computing devices like tablets and smartphones. Such those devices, their users can download a companion Intel SBA application to that that their authenticated devices can join the SBA platform. The SBA platform will allow IT administrators to control and administer devices for both productivity and security matters. It can even allow for USB port blocking in order to prevent any unauthorized copying of corporate data or the introduction of malware from portable storage devices.

(Image source: Intel)

In its move to a modern operating system, Intel has been working with Microsoft on the latter’s Windows 10 OS for hardware optimization with the 6th gen vPro processors. Therefore, corporate users can enjoy to a secure and seamless computing environment on the latest Wintel computing platform.

(Source: Intel, Microsoft)

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