Intel and a group of computer industry heavyweights are taking the fight against high corporate PC management costs to Madison Square Garden in New York.
At an event called "Wired for Management" that promises to give IT managers "a new PC management paradigm," Intel president and CEO Andrew Grove will be joined by executives from Microsoft, Computer Associates, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Tivoli Systems, Cisco Systems and Compaq Computer.
In addition to previewing Intel's roadmap for the managed PC, the event will include announcements and demonstrations from participating vendors.
Vendors will likely be beating the drum for the Web-Based Enterprise Management effort, which is intended to integrate existing standards such as the desktop management interface (DMI), SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) and HTTP into an architecture that can be managed via a Web browser.
One of the technologies scheduled for demonstration is DMI ActiveX; what will be shown, according to Intel, is an object hierarchy which can be used for rapid management application development. The DMI ActiveX objects can be utilized by a Microsoft Ole-enabled application (such as Visual Basic or Excel) to retrieve remote management information. ActiveX is Microsoft's software component architecture, used in assembling applications.
Intel will demonstrate PC configuration management technology that automates the configuration of PCs from operating systems through applications. It will also show its range of LANDesk management products, including tools that enable remote management of a notebook PC over a dial-up IP connection and its new LANDesk Support Center. Intel's Internet Software Update Manager will also be on display; this is a new software application for home users that automates the process of updating PC software across the Internet via popular browsers.
More information on the Wired for Management event can be found on the Web at http://www.intel.com/intel/sept24/.