OREANDA-NEWS. May 2, 2012.  Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) today announced it is first-to-market with Intel® Small Business Advantage (Intel® SBA), a software tool that helps simplify security and PC maintenance. The Intel software will power a Lenovo Solutions for Small Business (LSSB) package, featured in the recently launched ThinkPad Edge E430 and E530 laptops, both of which will be on display in Lenovo’s Accelerate 2012 Product Showcase.

 Accelerate 2012 is Lenovo’s second annual North America channel partner conference, designed to provide Lenovo’s business partners an opportunity to see the new products firsthand, and learn information about programs and solutions from Lenovo’s top channel business leaders.

 An advanced PC solution, LSSB maximizes security and productivity by automating routine security and maintenance tasks. The software manager feature in the LSSB portfolio helps actively guard against cyber attacks by monitoring at the hardware level.  It monitors the program for changes in setting and will provide an alert if a change has occurred like the firewall being turned off.

 “Not all SMBs have the resources to support IT departments, which can leave their PCs unmanaged and vulnerable to security threats and data loss,” said John Bischof, director Small and Medium Business, Lenovo.  “LSSB on the new ThinkPad Edge products is simple to manage and intuitive for maintaining performance and providing security coverage.”

 
 The solution’s after-hours maintenance feature wakes the PC from sleep to perform maintenance outside of normal working hours.  For example, assuming that work hours are from 8 to 5, the device will wake up at night, and run maintenance and backup while you sleep.  The USB Blocker assigns a passcode to each device which allows businesses to manage which storage devices can access and save information, and the Enhanced Backup and Restore function protects against losing data through PC errors, viral attacks or theft by automatically backing up critical data. 

 “Intel SBA frees small business owners to focus on their businesses because it ensures PCs run at a higher performance, automatically backs up data and checks for the latest software updates and provides multi-layer virus protection, even at the firmware level,” said Dan Russell, director of Business Client Solutions Marketing at Intel.  “By incorporating Intel SBA into their ThinkPad Edge portfolio of small to medium business laptops, Lenovo is ensuring that SMB owners are free to focus on their businesses and not left worrying about their PCs.”

 The ThinkPad Edge 14-inch E430 and 15-inch E530 laptops are available through partners, providing SMBs the freedom to choose their levels of performance with the option of the latest Intel® Core™ processors and integrated or discrete graphics.  The laptops also feature fast boot up, an optional up to 1 TB of storage that can be combined with solid state drive storage, USB 3.0 ports and a high-resolution web camera. 

 Accelerate 2012 will take place May 14-16 at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Partners will hear about the latest industry technology and trends as well as new opportunities with Lenovo from Lenovo’s leading channel and sales executives including Chris Frey, North American Channel Chief, David Schmoock, senior vice President and general manager, North America  and Jay Parker, vice president and general manager, Consumer and SMB Business Unit.  Industry leaders from Intel and Microsoft will also deliver keynotes.  Attendees will tour an extensive product showcase of business-focused mobile, desktop and Internet devices in addition to participating in breakout sessions for more personal time with executives.

 “Accelerate is an opportunity for us to engage in two-way conversation with our partners.  We look forward to hearing about our partners latest priorities, and welcome the opportunity to share the ways in which we are making  it simpler to be successful when selling Lenovo products,” said Chris Frey, North American Channel Chief, Lenovo.