Evolution
Intel launched what it likes to call the third generation of its vPro business desktop platform, codenamed McCreary, earlier this week.
Among its new features were a number of applications designed specifically with smaller businesses in mind so we sought out a couple of Intel execs to find out what benefit, if any, there is for the channel in all this.
Rob Sheppard (pictured) is EMEA business client marketing manager at Intel, we start by asking him what he does. "I'm in charge of the positioning and strategy of new PC platforms and simplifying the message," he says.
In other words he's the one who has to turn ambitious product marketing concepts into reality. With consensus in the semiconductor industry apparently drifting towards ‘platforms' as the best way of delivering a diverse collection of witheringly complex technology to the general public in a way it can digest.
"VPro is about not just using silicon technology to make things go faster but to fix more specific problems"
To put his skills in this capacity to the test, we ask Sheppard to explain what vPro is. "VPro is about not just using silicon technology to make things go faster but to fix more specific problems," he said. "In this case it means manageability challenges, specifically reducing the need for desk-side visits.
"VPro was originally driven by the needs of enterprise but it also offers efficiencies for SMBs. There are case studies where desk-side visits for software problems have been reduced by 90 percent and for hardware problems by 50 percent."
