Intel® Secure Device Onboard (Intel® SDO)
Customers are struggling with manual provisioning methods to onboard IoT devices to their target device management and cloud analytics platforms. This process is slow - usually taking over 20 minutes per device, and insecure - often relying on technicians using USB flash keys to hold device passwords.
Making the IoT Plug and Play - Any Device to Any Cloud
Intel has created an onboarding system that is fast, open, and provides additional security. Intel® Secure Device Onboard (Intel® SDO) delivers:
- Zero-touch Onboarding – Just provide device power and connectivity. Integrates with existing manual or industry Zero-touch solutions
- Fast & Enhanced Security - ~1 minute to onboard
- Hardware Flexibility – Supports a wide range of processors (from Arm* MCU to Intel® Xeon® processor)
- Identity Model – Utilize Intel® Enhanced Privacy ID (Intel® EPID) or ECDSA in hardware root of trust
- Any Device Management System – Connect to customer’s choice of cloud or on premise platform
Scalable, Simplified, Open Provisioning
“Late Binding” – Reducing Friction for the IoT Supply Chain
Most zero-touch onboarding solutions available today require unique silicon & software embedded into the IoT device at manufacture. This means ODMs must manufacture device SKUs for each customer/cloud combination. SDO’s “Late Binding” capability eliminates this need.
- Open – Service & cloud independent. Works with existing cloud services, it does not replace them. Contributing to the FIDO IoT Working Group’s approach to provisioning.
- Late Binding – Allows users to choose their target cloud (or on premise server) late in the supply chain – typically at first power on. Credentials, software, and security configurations can be downloaded through a dedicated and more secure channel at this time.
Intel® Secure Device Onboard (Intel® SDO) with “Late Binding” increases supply chain volume & velocity by allowing the manufacture and distribution of identical devices in large lots, which are bound to the target ecosystem at installation time.
See Intel® Secure Device Onboard (Intel® SDO) simplifies supply chain graphic ›
An Open Model and Shared Vision: Intel and Arm*
Intel and Arm* are collaborating on a shared vision to connect any device to any cloud. This will shift the industry from siloed supply chains to an open framework for the design and sourcing of connectable devices with enhanced security. In 2019, Intel is working with the industry to move the specifications and protocols into a standards body and contributing the seed code to open source so it can be broadly adopted.
“Intel and Arm are simplifying one of IoT’s most complex and challenging barriers with regard to streamlining the manufacturing and security deployment workflows for IoT. This is an ROI win for the customer, who will be able to deploy both Intel and Arm based devices at a lower cost and with less friction between IT and OT while at the same time retaining flexibility over their data and cloud partner choice until the deployment phase.”
-- Michela Menting, Director, ABI Research*.
Enable Your Device, Distribution Model, or IoT Platform

Step 1
Request an Intel® Developer Zone (Intel® DZ) account.

Step 2
Request access to Intel® SDO software and developer Docs.

Intel® Secure Device Onboard (Intel® SDO) Program Business
Contact us for a discussion.
Discovery Steps
Onboarding - How It Works
Short video overview of Intel® SDO protocol processing and flow.
Ecosystem Enabling for Zero-Touch
Video of the enabling flow for IoT ecosystem providers.
Tech Decoded Round-table
Executive discussion on how developers need to plan for device provisioning.