After conducting a massive launch for its consumer-oriented Core line of processors, semicon giant Intel went on hyperdrive again as it introduced recently a new set of products and services targeted this time at businesses.

The US-based tech firm rolled out its 2010 Intel Core vPro processor family as it pointed that the computing needs of the business environment are evolving with the emergence of video, Internet telephony, social networking, and other heavyweight applications.

Rick Echevarria, vice president at Intel’s Architecture Group, said during a “virtual conference” with reporters that companies nowadays are operating in a computing environment that is no longer capable of handling the applications many workers are using.

The platform based on the vPro processor line includes the new Intel Q57 Express chipset, and new Intel 82577LM Gigabit Network Connection for notebooks, and Intel 82578DM Network Connection for desktop PCs.

Intel said one of its strongest points of the new vPro family is its Anti-Theft Technology, which frustrates thieves by locking access to a PC if a central server or built-in intelligence concludes it is lost or stolen.

The anti-theft technology, Intel added, allows encryption solutions to disable access to cryptographic keys through hardware to completely block access to data, and also makes it simpler to reactivate a PC once in rightful hands.

The company said the Keyboard-Video-Mouse Remote Control (KVM Remote Control) features available with dual-core Intel Core i5 and i7 vPro processors also work in conjunction with Intel integrated graphics.
The KVM capability, it said, allows IT administrator to see users’ displays just as the users do and have full control of the PC, even if the operating system is inoperative. Previously, KVM functionality required appliances that cost as much as $200 and more per PC.

Another new feature, Intel said is PC Alarm Clock, which can wake a PC from off at a predetermined time to perform maintenance, security, and other tasks on its own.

The chipmaker said computer manufacturers worldwide, including Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Toshiba, are introducing business PCs based on the new vPro processor family.

The processors are based on Intel’s “Nehalem” microarchitecture and manufactured on the company’s new 32-nanometer process. Intel stressed that it has integrated high-definition graphics in its processors for the first time, and incorporated Intel’s second-generation high-k metal gate transistors that purportedly help increase computing speed and battery life.