Intel Corp has introduced new Intel vPro technology, a shift in desktop PC security and manageability along with energy-saving computing performance. The company today outlined how Intel vPro technology will deliver these benefits later this year through broad collaborations with software leaders and IT service companies, and support from PC system manufacturers around the world.

Intel vPro brand is the newest addition to Intel's brand portfolio, and its first targeting businesses and IT customers. At the heart of the first Intel vPro-based PCs will be an Intel Core microarchitecture dual-core processor. This next-generation 64-bit microarchitecture is said to bestow gains in performance and reductions in power consumption, improving responsiveness and productivity.

Intel vPro technology also includes the second generation of Intel active management technology (Intel AMT) and Intel virtualization technology (Intel VT). Intel VT will be integrated into the dual-core processor while the next-generation Intel AMT will be integrated into the new platform chipset. These hardware innovations, when combined with industry-enabled software solutions, are said to represent the superior manageability and strengthened security behind the Intel vPro brand.

Intel AMT helps manage, inventory, diagnose and repair PCs even when systems are turned off or have crashed operating systems or hard drives. The second generation of Intel AMT offers the ability to isolate infected PCs before they impact the network and alert IT when threats are removed.

Further strengthening PC security, Intel VT allows for separate independent hardware-based environments inside a single PC so IT managers can create a dedicated, tamper-resistant service environment -- or partition -- where particular tasks or activities can run independently, invisible to and isolated from PC users.