October 6, 2020 – HTC Vive has today announced an exclusive partnership with PNY Technologies to distribute the new Vive Pro Secure headset in North America. The new Vive Pro Secure is designed to meet the specific privacy and security requirements of secure environments that require Authority to Operate (ATO)—such as government agencies and organizations—in addition to education, medical, and financial institutions.
HTC’s professional-grade VR system provides all the features of the Vive Pro, including premium audio, and SteamVR room-scale tracking, but comes with additional hardware modifications that restrict all radios, cameras, and wireless communication functions for secure performance. Vive Enterprise Business Warranty & Services is also included for enterprise-grade support and services.
Use-cases for VR in government organizations have multiplied over the years and continue to grow as agencies adapt many of the best practices deployed in the private sector for use in training, data visualization, and manufacturing, among other applications.
According to HTC Vive, one of the major barriers to any technology adoption for organizations that require ATO is access to hardware that meets specific security and privacy requirements. As a result, the company’s new Vive Pro Secure system offers the necessary hardware modifications to ensure the device meets ATO standards for more demanding secure environments.
“Our enterprise customers using Vive Pro and Vive Pro Eye solutions already benefit from leveraging VR—including reduced costs and time spent on various tasks such as employee training, design, and data analysis,” said Daniel O’Brien, General Manager, HTC Americas. “Now we can offer those benefits and the same professional-grade VR experience to secure environments who require the utmost in security and privacy with Vive Pro Secure.”
Also commenting on the partnership, Steven Kaner, PNY’s Sr. Vice President, Sales and Marketing, said: “PNY is looking forward to our new, strategic partnership with HTC, being the exclusive HTC Vive Pro Secure partner throughout North America.” He added, “As the only enterprise, government and military grade secure VR headset with ATO, HTC’s Vive Pro Secure allows PNY to open up a key segment of the expanding VR professional marketplace and will complement and extend our extensive professional graphics product portfolio.”
In addition to the secure hardware modifications, the Vive Pro Secure includes access to an offline SteamVR library, which allows for installation of apps and programs in a secure environment without the need to connect to the internet.
HTC quoted John Grant, a technology manager within the Department of Defense and manager of the quarterly Virtual Worlds Forum, as saying: “Since 2016, HTC Vive has coordinated with numerous US government organizations to understand the opportunity with room-scale VR, as well as address the key barriers to adoption. Vive Pro Secure has provided US government organizations and agencies a unique option to leverage VR in sensitive facilities.”
The Vive Pro Secure platform is available now. Please visit PNY Technologies’ website for more information.
Image credit: HTC Vive / PNY Technologies
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Sam is the Founder and Managing Editor of Auganix. With a background in research and report writing, he has been covering XR industry news for the past seven years.