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Technology Stocks : Intel Corporation (INTC) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Paul Engel who wrote (84849)	7/2/1999 6:06:00 PM
From: Tenchusatsu	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 186894

<It bashes Intel's "Standard High Volume" approach most of all.> It's not a bash of the SHV approach. Rather, I think it's a good assessment of the current situation regarding Intel-based servers. If you look at the 4-way Xeon servers being offered right now (based on 450NX), you'll notice that all of them really do follow a "cookie-cutter" approach. There are a few exceptions, like SGI's product, but not many. This is Intel's way of leveling the playing field and lowering the barriers of entry. As a result, the volumes of 4-way Xeon servers rise, and with it, the number of multi-thousand-dollar Xeons sold increases as well. The only problem is that server vendors like to have something else to distinguish their products by. Conformity isn't much of a business plan; there has to be something different so that you can stand out from the competition. Some guys, like Dell, really love it because they can save on R&D and apply their BTO model and top-notch service reputation to Intel's "cookie-cutter". Some guys, like Compaq, don't like it because they were already at the top to begin with, and the "cookie-cutter" takes away the very advantages that keep them up there in the first place. Now the game is being expanded into the 8-way server space. There are already some 8-way Xeon-based servers out there, but they are based on proprietary platforms. Intel's Profusion chipset will bring the tried and true "cookie-cutter" to the 8-way space. And as usual, some companies will love it, and some others will bemoan it, depending on their business needs. It's an interesting game, for sure. Let's see if Intel plays it well and if the others follow along or instead come up with some counter-strategies. Tenchusatsu