Intel Rides Cloud Computing Revenue Wave

Intel is feeling the cloud computing love as its cloud-related revenue tripled in the third quarter compared to the same time last year, the chipmaker said in its third quarter earnings call.

Despite the massive growth, Intel cautioned that it doesn't see cloud computing overthrowing client-based computing or replacing laptops or desktops anytime soon.

"Shipments into the cloud segment are up a very strong 200 percent from a year ago and up 50 percent from just last quarter," Intel CEO Paul Otellini said on the Intel earnings call.

Intel, the world's largest chipmaker, attacks the cloud on the infrastructure side and its chipsets and processor offerings have become staples in the data centers of Internet service providers and cloud players that are building out their cloud computing services offerings to fulfill the demand for cloud computing.

Intel isn't alone in its cloud excitement, as Intel rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is also pushing hard in the cloud. AMD has said it has more than 2 million of its Opteron Processors powering cloud computing initiatives.

Next: 'Client-Based Computing Still King'

Despite the massive increase in cloud segment revenue, Intel said the cloud is still a ways off from replacing traditional laptops and desktops. Intel CFO Stacy Smith said the cloud boom will not be detrimental to Intel's core client-based business.

"The virtualized desktop model doesn't seem to be gaining lot of traction," Smith said. "People still want the portability of a notebook, they want the robustness, they want performance-based solutions, and they want media capability in enterprise. So, I don’t really see that as being detrimental, I think it’s additive to us, because we get all of that’s running on our stuff."

Intel's cloud computing growth helped the company rack up third quarter revenue of $11.1 billion, up 19 percent year-over-year. Its quarterly profit came in at $3 billion, or 52 cents per share, up 59 percent compared to the same period last year.