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Nvidia tackles business PCs with stable images

Tom Krazit Former Staff writer, CNET News
Tom Krazit writes about the ever-expanding world of Google, as the most prominent company on the Internet defends its search juggernaut while expanding into nearly anything it thinks possible. He has previously written about Apple, the traditional PC industry, and chip companies. E-mail Tom.
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Tom Krazit

Nvidia unveiled a new initiative Wednesday that could help its partner AMD break into the corporate desktop ranks.

The new Nvidia Business Platform will now be on the same page as AMD's Commercial Stable Image Platform to guarantee that IT departments have access to a stable software image from PC vendors that use AMD and Nvidia hardware. Nvidia makes chipsets that connect AMD processors to the rest of a PC.

IT managers depend on software images to speed up the rollout of new PCs. The image is a snapshot of the applications and settings that IT departments have set as standards for their users. But when chip companies introduce new processors or chipsets that require new drivers, the image needs to updated and standardization breaks down.

As a result, AMD and Nvidia are joining Intel, which has a stranglehold on business PCs, in offering a promise that the underlying technology that could break a software image won't change for at least a year. Businesses will be able to buy PCs that won't break their images over a 12-month period before the new hardware is introduced.

AMD and Nvidia are relying on second-tier PC suppliers for their program, but the program removes to using AMD chips in the enterprise. However, for now Nvidia and AMD are concentrating on small and medium-size businesses.