IT Pro is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more

Is it time to put Intel Outside?

As rivals continue to make gains, the chipmaker may be past its best

Stacks of computer chips

Looking at Intel’s most recent financial results, you’d be inclined to say the company is doing rather well; its first-quarter revenue for 2020 is up by almost 25% year-on-year, to a total of just under $20 billion, with strong double-digit growth across both its data centre and end-user computing divisions. The company forecasted a reduction in revenue for Q2, but it’s a comparatively minor one, and all things considered, the company appears to be in good shape.

So why do I have this persistent feeling that somehow, this is the beginning of the end for the silicon titan? 

Perhaps it’s because Nvidia has just leapfrogged Moore’s company to become the most valuable US-based chip manufacturer, buoyed by smart acquisitions and a keen focus on the data centre; or maybe it’s the fact that it’s taken 12 years and counting for the company to bring its 10nm production process to market, in which time AMD has flamed out, reinvented itself and still had time to jump straight past Intel to a 7nm process, which has been widely available since last year.

It also could be the fact that I’ve spent the week testing out the Samsung Galaxy Book S – a marvellous little device built on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8cx platform which demonstrates the true capabilities of ARM-based Windows devices when properly engineered. I won’t spoil the review (which should be published soon) but, suffice it to say, the power efficiency leaves Intel devices in the dust.

This, I think, illustrates the root of the problem that I’ve been having with Intel; the company isn’t innovating fast enough. Each successive generation of Intel chips manages, at most, around a 10-15% performance increase over its predecessor – meanwhile, AMD is producing monster 32-core desktop processors which can make entire server racks redundant, and Qualcomm’s laptop chips look like they could well start eating Intel’s lunch when it comes to price/performance ratio.

Related Resource

IT Pro 20/20: A quantum leap for security

The sixth issue of IT Pro 20/20 looks at the state of cyber security in 2020 and beyond

DOWNLOAD NOW

Historically, Intel has always had inertia on its side – it’s the industry’s biggest player, and has long-standing commercial relationships with every vendor in the industry. This has allowed the company to keep a strong grip on the top spot, and even today, Intel chips are effectively the default for most hardware.

So what’s the problem? Intel is still the dominant market force, with a huge lead in market share and a very healthy financial outlook, so what’s there to worry about?

Well, being the incumbent will only get you so far in the face of genuine competition. Already, we’re starting to see a noticeable uptick in the number of servers from blue-chip vendors like Dell and HPE that use AMD’s EPYC data centre chips rather than Intel Xeon processors. Ryzen-powered laptops are becoming more common too, and if the Galaxy Book S is anything to go by, expect the same to be true of Snapdragon laptops before too long. 

One of the biggest warning-signs is that Apple, a long-time partner of Intel’s for all of its desktop and laptop compute hardware, has finally decided to abandon Intel chips in favour of custom-made ARM silicon. While other hardware manufacturers are unlikely to start manufacturing their own chips, Apple could be the first of many to decide that perhaps Intel is no longer the best partner.

In short, unless Intel pulls its finger out and starts actually innovating again, it’s going to get left behind by its rivals. Nvidia, AMD and Qualcomm are all making gains on the company, and it’s not doing an awful lot to justify its position as market leader from where I’m sitting. Intel’s been at the top of the heap for decades now – maybe it’s time for a change.

Featured Resources

Defending against malware attacks starts here

The ultimate guide to building your malware defence strategy

Free Download

Datto SMB cyber security for MSPs report

A world of opportunity for MSPs

Free Download

The essential guide to preventing ransomware attacks

Vital tips and guidelines to protect your business using ZTNA and SSE

Free Download

Medium businesses: Fuelling the UK’s economic engine

A Connected Thinking report

Free Download

Recommended

Why is big tech choosing Nvidia for AI?
artificial intelligence (AI)

Why is big tech choosing Nvidia for AI?

23 Mar 2023
Modern storage: The answer to multi-cloud complexity
Whitepaper

Modern storage: The answer to multi-cloud complexity

28 Feb 2023
Innovation to boost productivity and provide better data insights
Whitepaper

Innovation to boost productivity and provide better data insights

28 Feb 2023
Continuously modernise storage
Whitepaper

Continuously modernise storage

28 Feb 2023

Most Popular

Tech pioneers call for six-month pause of "out-of-control" AI development
artificial intelligence (AI)

Tech pioneers call for six-month pause of "out-of-control" AI development

29 Mar 2023
Getting the best value from your remote support software
Advertisement Feature

Getting the best value from your remote support software

13 Mar 2023
Microsoft set to block emails from unsupported Exchange servers
Security

Microsoft set to block emails from unsupported Exchange servers

28 Mar 2023