Intel sees stars lining up behind platform strategy

Underlining a renewed focus on platforms rather than chip speeds, Intel kicked off the second day of the Intel Developer Forum by showing off how the company is working together with industry partners for its enterprise products.

On stage at the event, general manager for Intel's enterprise group Pat Gelsinger unveiled a new partnership with Cisco that will lead to Intel's Active Management Technology (AMT) working together with Cisco's Network Access Control (NAC) technology.

"It really is something that neither one of us could have done on their own, " Gelsinger told delegates.

The Cisco technology provides security by looking at data packets on the network and blocking unusual traffic. The company boasts that NAC can prevent viruses spreading even before they are detected.

Intel's AMT is an embedded technology that offers enterprises remote diagnostics, management and patching.

The combination of the two systems allows the network to detect an unpatched system, inform the user that he needs to download an update and fix the issue without requiring any help from IT staff.

The technologies are scheduled to be working together by the end of this year, said Gelsinger.

Staying on message about Intel's focus on platforms rather than clockspeed, Gelsinger revealed that the next version of Microsoft Virtual Server will support Intel's VT technology. VMWare, another maker of virtualisation technology, had already pledged support for VT for its desktop product, and Gelsinger said that the company would also follow suit with its ESX product.

The VT technology is slated to be included on Intel chips for desktop systems later this year, followed by the Itanium and other chips. The technology allows for simpler and faster virtualisation.