I'm not sure this is good for AMD. If Sun is a chip's largest-volume customer, that's another way of saying that the chip doesn't have any large-volume customers.
--QS
Sun Micro Is Largest Customer Of Opteron Chip - AMD CEO
By MARK BOSLET
February 2, 2005 2:33 p.m.
Of Dow Jones Newswires
SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Sun Microsystems Inc. (SUNW) is the largest volume customer, as measured by units, of Advanced Micro Devices Inc.'s (AMD) Opteron server chip, AMD Chief Executive Hector Ruiz said.
Sun is the "leading unit driver of Opteron," Ruiz said Wednesday.
Speaking at a Sun-sponsored analyst meeting, Ruiz added that Opteron's dual-core processor will reach the market this summer, if not before.
Ruiz addressed the gathering as Sun Chief Executive Scott McNealy argued his company's product line, including its low-cost Opteron servers, was as strong as any product lineup in the company's history.
He said the lineup positions Sun for growth. "I think the financial analysts are right to say, 'Where's the growth'," McNealy said. "I would say this is still a work in process."
But he said customers were showing increased interest in Sun gear - and visiting its campus more frequently to get added details.
One problem is that Sun needs to do a better job marketing the new products, he said. "While we try to get profitable, we're not running a lot of ads," he added.
McNealy went on to suggest the first fruits of the company's technology partnership with Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) would show up next month. The two adversaries are working together to make their competing technologies work together.
The scope of the partnership is broader than initially anticipated, but the results have been slower to reach the market, he said.
McNealy added the company's next-generation Niagara chip would be available early next year in volume. Sun also is targeting greater internal efficiencies this year, with $4.7 billion in spending, he said.
-By Mark Boslet, Dow Jones Newswires; 650-496-1366; mark.boslet@dowjones.com |
