AMD Refocusing Efforts on Commercial Side

[ltcommander_data]

I'm not sure if people have read it, afterall it is on the front page, but this is a great article.

http://www.tgdaily.com/2006/03/06/amd_ceo_capacity_could_be_traded/

I would think that a exclusive interview (I haven't seen other sites with this information) with AMD's CEO should disprove most people's theories about THG focusing too much on Intel's news (or depending on your point of view propaganda).

It seems that AMD has achieved sufficient consumer penetration for their desires and now just "to just hang on to that". Instead they will be focusing on the corporate market, because of it's higher profit margins. Up to now, I've heard a lot of people defending AMD's manufacturing capacity whenever it is criticized. However, even AMD's CEO admits that "the company may need to make some tradeoffs to ensure "we will always meet the needs of those people that are signing up on the commercial space"". What's more those trade-offs will be in "the very high end of the desktop market" namely the FX-series which has long been their flagship product.

Another interesting tidbit was that this is the first time I know of that AMD's CEO admits they dropped the ball on the mobile market.

Coming clean, Ruiz said, "Because we were late with a competitive product in the mobile space, we have not been able to command premium pricing that, I think, in some areas of mobile computing, you want.

The fact that AMD seems willing to sacrifice their FX-series which is their top performing product is very interesting. The FX-series is supposed to compete for the performance crown and without it, it seems AMD may be willing to give it to Intel. From a business perspective though, this is of course the better choice over the long term since the commerical business market is far more lucrative. It's still a gamble though, requiring AMD to make sufficient inroads.

 

[Caboose-1]

I'm not sure if people have read it, afterall it is on the front page, but this is a great article.

http://www.tgdaily.com/2006/03/06/amd_ceo_capacity_could_be_traded/

I would think that a exclusive interview (I haven't seen other sites with this information) with AMD's CEO should disprove most people's theories about THG focusing too much on Intel's news (or depending on your point of view propaganda).

It seems that AMD has achieved sufficient consumer penetration for their desires and now just "to just hang on to that". Instead they will be focusing on the corporate market, because of it's higher profit margins. Up to now, I've heard a lot of people defending AMD's manufacturing capacity whenever it is criticized. However, even AMD's CEO admits that "the company may need to make some tradeoffs to ensure "we will always meet the needs of those people that are signing up on the commercial space"". What's more those trade-offs will be in "the very high end of the desktop market" namely the FX-series which has long been their flagship product.

Another interesting tidbit was that this is the first time I know of that AMD's CEO admits they dropped the ball on the mobile market.

Coming clean, Ruiz said, "Because we were late with a competitive product in the mobile space, we have not been able to command premium pricing that, I think, in some areas of mobile computing, you want.

The fact that AMD seems willing to sacrifice their FX-series which is their top performing product is very interesting. The FX-series is supposed to compete for the performance crown and without it, it seems AMD may be willing to give it to Intel. From a business perspective though, this is of course the better choice over the long term since the commerical business market is far more lucrative. It's still a gamble though, requiring AMD to make sufficient inroads. Interesting...

 

[mpjesse]

LOL. I'm quite perplexed by the lack of replies to this thread. I too thought it was an excellent article. And yes, it pretty much dispells the "THG is Intel biased" bullshit.

My guess is this: AMD fanboys are upset 'cause Hector basically told all of them this: "get bent, we've got bigger fish to fry."

Thanks for pointing that out data. ;-)

-mpjesse

 

[Rustol3um]

it does sound like they are going to be forsaking their fan base to pursue higher profits........not a fan boy or anything but I wonder if this is wise...but hey who the hell am I... and the company needs to grow..

 

[endyen]

Why do I think you are missreading the article?
Amd is moving into a bigger space. Their output is growing. It has been for the last year.
Amd has put a lot of time and effort into getting chips into enthusiasts boxes. That time and effort will not be going away.
On the other hand, Amd has more money to buy time, and effort, and has the capacity to produce more and more product.
What Hector said was, we have these areas down, and can maintain them. Our larger capacity is going towards the "large OEM" route.
IMNSHO, look to see adds frem Lenova pushing thier Amd products.
HP may also find thier PR department a little richer, to spend on adverts for Amd systems.

 

[Rustol3um]

Hey whatever improves the position of AMD is fine with me...cause in the end a little good competition is good for the consumer...namely "ME"....my concern, and maybe I mis-read the article, was that they are going to me concentrating more on the OEM's at the expense of the higher end chip market. This is where alot of the gamer and enthusiest fan base is at, and I am concerned that they will get left out of consideration when it comes to producing next generation chips at the expense of profit margins.....After all there has been a pretty loyal following of AMD even when their chips were considered to be inferior to Intel's. Mostly because of the price to performance ratios. I for one have always had an AMD chip in one of my computers.....currently I have 3. I would hate for that innovation that I love so much about AMD be wasted on some run of the mill oem.....that's my concern

 

[endyen]

That may be one interpretation. It's certainly the one LC Data is playing on.
Just the same, when they focused more on opterons, did it hurt? How about the turion?
Ruiz is just saying that Amd focuses on a target group. He isn't saying that he gives up on others.
There will always be new "FX" chips, and new turions/opterons. It is just that Amd now has a lowd enough voice to be heard in the board room, so that is who Amd will be talking to next.
Part of me has to wonder if THG posted that article, in hopes that enthusiasts would feel deserted.

 

[MadModMike]

That may be one interpretation. It's certainly the one LC Data is playing on.
Just the same, when they focused more on opterons, did it hurt? How about the turion?
Ruiz is just saying that Amd focuses on a target group. He isn't saying that he gives up on others.
There will always be new "FX" chips, and new turions/opterons. It is just that Amd now has a lowd enough voice to be heard in the board room, so that is who Amd will be talking to next.
Part of me has to wonder if THG posted that article, in hopes that enthusiasts would feel deserted.

This could just further prove THG biasness, but I hope another moderator doesn't get mad at me for posting that, .

~~Mad Mod Mike, pimpin' the world 1 rig at a time