Intel: Growth in APAC fueled by Ivy Bridge; Australia remains key mature market

15.05.2012
APAC has been a growth driver for Intel and will continue to provide opportunities in 2012 and beyond, according to Intel veteran Gregory Bryant, who recently stepped into the role of APAC sales marketing VP and general manager.

He was speaking at the 2012 Intel Solutions Summit in Bali.

"In emerging markets in APAC there is big growth," he said.

"There are big innovation centers in regions such as India and Taiwan, as well as OEM customers."

Bryant sees Intel driving the "new way of transformation" in APAC, and transforming the channel with integrated solutions.

Intel in the datacentre is also doing well in APAC and further expansion is expected.

As for Australia, Bryant sees it as a "key mature market" for Intel in APAC.

"Ultrabooks are big in the retail, business and enterprise space," he said.

"In that market we have a big retail push and promotional campaign."

Datacentres are also doing well in Australia, and Bryant sees ROI being "quick" and thus attractive when starting up new datacentres.

"Australia provides the Asian mature market proposition," he said.

Intel worldwide reseller channel organisation VP and general manager, Steve Dallman, spoke about Intel's continued investment in Moore's Law, from 32nm and 22nm chips currently in production to 14nm and beyond.

"Experiences will define the Intel architecture to make it engaging, consistent, aware and secure," he said.

Intel had experienced the fastest desktop ramp up ever with the Sandy Bridge processors, according to Dallman. However, since the Ivy Bridge processors were released in stages this time around, he said that the adoption curve might be a bit lower in comparison.

Dallman said that worldwide channel SSD volume was up and revenue grew by 83 per cent year-on-year, while server platform revenue was up 30 per cent year-on-year.

"In notebooks and entry level desktops, Atom volume grew 36 per cent year-on-year," he said.

Intel's worldwide channel growth is at 18 per cent year-on-year, and Dallman attributes it to initiatives such as the Intel Technology Provider (ITP) program.

Since the launch of the program, 51,000 ITPs have been recruited and re-engaged worldwide.

Worldwide channel retail stores are numbered at 26,000, with 6000 of those being APAC channel retail stores.

Out of 1.4 million training credits delivered last year, 417,000 were in APAC.

Looking forward, Dallman sees All-In-One (AIO) desktop solutions as being strategically important for the channel.

"More choices will drive a growth in this segment by 30 per cent," he said.

Dallman also sees vertical market opportunities for partners, as 35 trillion gigabytes of data and 15 billion intelligent connected devices are forecasted by 2020 and 2015 respectively.

Signage, security, surveillance, and storage are pegged by Dallman as future opportunities in APAC, as well as the Cloud.

"The third generation Intel core processor transition will be led by Ivy Bridge, and Ultrabooks will drive mobile growth," he said.

In the desktop space, gaming enthusiasts and AIO will be key drivers, while server growth will be off the E5 family and EPSD 3.0.

Intel APAC reseller channel operation channel chief director, Kamil Hasan, rounded out the sessions by admitting that 2011 was the "year of challenges" due to natural disasters in Japan and Thailand, as well as the Euro crisis.

"But the channel delivered: one in two desktops sold by the channel was with the Sandy Bridge Intel Core processor," he said.

According to Hasan, 98 per cent of all K-SKU processor based desktops were sold by channel, and there was 80 per cent year-on-year growth in channel SSD volumes in APAC.

AIOs were the fastest growing desktops in APAC last year, with a further 31 per cent growth expected going forward.

"In contrast, the traditional tower is expected to shrink by four per cent," he said.

Some steps Intel is taking into improving its channel is to create visibility together, such as branding with local stores and in malls.

"Improve your sales person's skills by training with qualified professionals, certification programs, and store front training," Hasan said.

Digital signage in APAC was forecasted by Hasan to provide Intel and its local partners with opportunities, as a CAGR of 42 per cent will mean the segment will go from less than two million sites in 2009 to 7 million in 2015.