Intel pivots away from the PC, toward the cloud, for future revenue

Dave W. Shanahan

intel

Intel’s CEO, Brian Krzanich, outlined Intel’s future vision with a business strategy shifting away from the PC and more focused on cloud computing. Instead of relying heavily on the advancement of the Windows PC, Intel is looking ahead to a new company-wide business strategy that will focus on cloud innovation and development.

In an editorial, Krzanich lays out “five core beliefs” that Intel will use to navigate its future vision:

  • The cloud is the most important trend shaping the future of the smart, connected world – and thus Intel’s future.
  • The many “things” that make up the PC Client business and the Internet of Things (IoT) are made much more valuable by their connection to the cloud.
  • Memory and programmable solutions such as FPGAs (field-programmable gate array) will deliver entirely new classes of products for the data center and IoT.
  • 5G will become the key technology for access to the cloud and as we move toward an always-connected world.
  • Moore’s Law will continue to progress and Intel will continue to lead in delivering its true economic impact.

Krzanich discusses the new shift as a way to stay invested in computing while also diversifying Intel’s products offerings in the future.

Putting it all together, Intel is uniquely positioned to power the cloud and drive the increasingly smart, connected world. We see tremendous opportunity in the growth of this virtuous cycle – the cloud and data center, the Internet of Things, memory and FPGAs all bound together by connectivity and enhanced by the economics of Moore’s Law – which will provide a strong and dynamic future for Intel.

Essentially, Krzanich is announcing that Intel will no longer be known as just a PC supplier company. Whether this is good news or bad news for the future of Intel isn’t exactly clear. However, Intel’s recent layoff of 12,000 due to a “weak environment in the first half of 2016” might be an indicator of a tough road ahead.