ITWire

Windows To Go is a feature of Windows 8 that is aimed at corporate users. It allows a recent PC to boot from Windows 8 stored in an encrypted USB drive (typically a thumb drive), giving users the security of working with a 'known good' copy of the operating system (rather than working with a potentially malware-ridden borrowed PC) without the need to carry a notebook.

To be certified by Microsoft for use with Windows To Go, a USB drive must meet relatively demanding specifications, including a USB 3.0 interface, high random read/write speed, and reporting as fixed media.

The first two companies to offer certified products were Kingston and SuperTalent, but Imation has now joined the team.

The Imation IronKey Workspace has been certified by Microsoft, and will ship this quarter.

"We are excited to announce Imation as one of our go-to-market associates to help enterprises take advantage of Windows To Go," said Karri Alexion-Tiernan, director of product marketing, Windows enterprise, Microsoft.

"Imation's IronKey Workspace is designed for Windows To Go and will help organisations deliver a full-featured Windows 8 experience on multiple devices when booting from a USB drive," she added.

Microsoft has been driving Windows To Go "pretty aggressively, said Sven Radavics, Imation Mobile Security's general manager for Asia Pacific, and Imation's StealthZone has offered something similar for Windows 7 for some time.

Mr Radavics said Imation expects this to be a $1 million product in Australia within 12 months of its release.

"It takes organisations a few months to plan to adopt a new Windows environment," he said, predicting that the IronKey Workspace would be a significant contributor to the company's revenue in a few years.

Imation officials have foreshadowed further products and services relating to Windows To Go for 2013.

In related news, Imation announced that it will be using the IronKey brand across its mobile security range.

When Imation originally acquired the IronKey storage hardware business, it licensed the name for ten years, Mr Radavics explained, but the company has now acquired the IronKey name and, in due course, the ironkey.com domain.

Imation's acquisition of three security companies within approximately eight months had been "very aggressive, very exciting," he said, but had caused some confusion in the channel, which the adoption of the relatively strong IronKey brand is intended to overcome.

The 'old' IronKey (which provides secure access to enterprise provisioned public and private clouds) has been rebranded Marble Cloud.