AMD's Barcelona Is About Choice--Olé

Barcelona, the code-name for AMD's new quad-core server processor, may prove to be a boost for a company that is competing against the Intel behemoth, but it represents something very significant to the channel—choice. Solution providers and systems builders have a viable alternative to Intel now that AMD has brought to market its quad-core Opteron processor. The bottom line here is that translates into choice for customers and opportunities for VARs to grow their businesses. This will hopefully lead to a more competitive and vibrant server market if AMD focuses more attention on the channel.

Whether or not Barcelona is AMD's salvation to bring it financial stability and growth is beside the point. If it delivers on its performance promise, Barcelona will succeed. Still, competing against a giant like Intel whose market cap is nearly 20 times that of AMD's is no easy task. Just ask Juniper in networking, where Cisco has unbelievable market share, or Ricoh in the laser printer market, which wakes up every day in Hewlett-Packard's shadow. But each company is out to grab just enough market share to keep things competitive. Gordon Gekko, a character in Oliver Stone's "Wall Street," said, "Greed is good, but so, too, is choice." The channel, customers, OEMs and even Intel will benefit because Barcelona represents a viable alternative.

ROBERT C. DEMARZO Can be reached via e-mail at rdemarzo@cmp.com.

Speeds and feeds aside, I am somewhat disappointed by AMD's early efforts in the channel. Perhaps it reveals that AMD is not quite as channel-centric as it should be and less so than its main rival. It might be unfair to say, but I expected more innovation from AMD. Sure there was plenty of star power at the product launch, but what was missing was something decidedly channel-focused. That may come, but where, for example, was the free trip to Barcelona for the first 50 VARs who convert customers to the new chip, or other types of stealth marketing initiatives? I'm no marketing expert, and AMD is, after all, an engineering company first and foremost, but it must do everything it can to show it's willing to keep pressure on Intel by leveraging the channel.

VMware and Sun execs were on hand to usher in Barcelona, but Bill Paschick of Rain Recording, who said, "I don't want to paint Intel as the Evil Empire, but like with Microsoft, monopolies aren't good for us, and it's nice to see another player on the field," should have been in the spotlight. Rain was an Intel-only shop for nearly 20 years. But the Ringwood, N.J.-based systems builder recently added its first AMD-based workstation, Solstice, to its line.

Intel tried to rain on AMD's parade the day Barcelona launched by stating that its quarterly results will surpass expectations, but the real story is about choice in the server market. Also, AMD's share of the worldwide microprocessor market grew to 13.4 percent in the second quarter at Intel's expense, according to researcher iSuppli. To maintain that momentum, AMD now needs to spend more time and effort on making Barcelona focused on the channel.

What do you think of barcelona and amd's prospects?
Let me know at rdemarzo@cmp.com.