Rumors have been flying recently that Intel and Microsoft are going to be forming a partnership to push managed services. For Intel, they will push vPro technology which is integrated into certain desktops and laptops and allows system administrators and managed services providers (MSP) to remotely manage systems even when they are turned off. For Microsoft, they will more than likely be integrating vPro and MSP friendly features in the new Windows 7 operating system coming October 22nd.

Intel's vPro technology has been around for a few years now but without wide adoption. The main reason for this is that while it is very thorough and helpful, it can be quite a task to get setup and requires higher cost systems. As we all know, higher cost is not very appealing to customers in this economy. This upcoming meeting of minds will more than likely be geared at making these two items more customer friendly. If Microsoft can show their product is easy to quickly manage and fix, they can win back some angry Vista customers. If Intel can slip more vPro into customer sites without large cost increases, they will gain MSP adoption and happier customers.