IBM innovative technologies to make 'self-managing' and 'self-healing' PCs

Some analysts estimate that 80 percent of the cost of a PC is in managing and supporting systems after its initial purchase. ThinkVantage Technologies are new hardware and software tools available today that help customers drive down these information technology (IT) support costs.

They provide new innovations for real business advantage, such as simplifying the deployment of wireless networks, or helping to make PCs more secure. ThinkVantage Technologies are at the heart of a new "Think" strategy from IBM that points toward a future where PCs will be able to automatically diagnose and fix problems.

"IBM believes that we are now entering a new phase in the personal computing evolution which will be driven by the ability to embrace open industry standards and provide innovation solutions on top of them to solve real business problems," said Sameh Farid, regional manager, personal computing division, IBM Middle East.

"IBM's innovative ThinkVantage Technologies are at the heart of our new "Think" strategy, that point towards an era of computing where PCs will be able to automatically diagnose and fix problems and provide our customers with a valuable business advantage."

ThinkVantage Technologies show IBM's commitment to research, innovation, patents and development in personal computing. ThinkVantage Technologies being announced today include:

*IBM RapidRestore™ PC, a software tool preloaded¹ on IBM PCs that can restore previously saved data and applications after a software failure.

*Embedded Security Subsystem, a system of both hardware and downloadable software available on select models, based on industry standards, that helps protect valuable data.

*ImageUltra™ Builder, a toolkit for IT departments that helps them reduce the number of software images they support.

*System Migration Assistant, a software tool that simplifies the
transition from old PCs to new ones.

*Access Connections, which frees up people from worrying about how to configure their systems and switch between different environments, regardless of what kind of "connection" they're using - wired or wireless, home, office or elsewhere.

*Access IBM, a one-button method of putting people in touch with automated service and support.²

IBM's New "Think" Strategy in Personal Computing
As the first offerings in IBM's new "Think" strategy, the new ThinkVantage Technologies demonstrate characteristics to be extended across an entire family of Think offerings that will start being delivered to the market early next year.

This new "Think" strategy aligns personal computing with IBM's e-business on demand ™ agenda announced on 30 Oct. That agenda addresses customers' needs for computing as an "always-on" utility, able to respond in real-time to stepped-up demand from their markets. Four characteristics define the e-business on demand operating environment. It is integrated, enabling dynamic transaction and process integration across the enterprise; open, enabling applications, processes and systems to interact seamlessly; virtualized to take advantage of unused computing capacity, easily managed and variable in cost structure; and autonomic, highly responsive to the conditions placed on it, wherever and whenever.

E-business on demand requires a new, integrated, end-to-end IT operating environment for business. The PCs that fit this new infrastructure will need to be simpler, more secure, and more resilient, and they will also require fewer resources to deploy, manage and support.

Toward Autonomic PCs
In addition to the ThinkVantage Technologies announced today, IBM demonstrated several completely new technologies developed at IBM Research laboratories in collaboration with PC product developers. All point toward a future landscape in which PCs diagnose and fix themselves, a part of IBM's investment in autonomic computing. They include Client Recovery and Rescue, which would help people recover data and continue some operations even after a catastrophic PC failure such as a broken hard drive. Another is Distributed Wireless Security Auditor (DWSA). DWSA allows PCs in the same location to work together to detect dangerous "rogue" security risks in wireless networks, saving hours of manpower. And a third, Instant Connections, automatically detects wireless and wired networks and configures the PC to work with them, saving people from having to remember server addresses and wireless protocols.

IBM expects to introduce some of these innovative technologies in 2003.