Intel Corp (INTC)

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http://www.crn.com/sections/BreakingNews/dailyarchives.asp?ArticleID=40286

Intel Exec: Xeon Channel Sales On Pace To Double

By Edward F. Moltzen, CRN
San Diego
9:49 AM EST Mon., Mar. 03, 2003

Shipments of Intel Xeon processors in the channel are on track to double this year as Microsoft readies its Windows Server 2003, according to one of Intel's top channel executives.

Steve Dallman, director of Intel channel sales and marketing, also said the chip giant is getting closer to shipping Pentium 4 processors at 4GHz. Dallman addressed a gathering of Intel solution providers and systems builders at the company's annual Intel Solutions Summit here. "There is nothing between us and 4GHz but months," Dallman said.

Dallman addressed a gathering of Intel solution providers and systems builders at the company's annual Intel Solutions Summit. Noting the difficult economic environment the industry has seen over the past two years, Dallman provided an upbeat assessment of Intel's channel's health and opportunities. During the conference, he and other executives plan to roll out the company's channel and technology road map for the coming year.

Key to those opportunities could be Xeon, Intel's 32-bit processor for servers and workstations. Dallman noted that Intel is readying two, new Xeon processors at 3GHz or greater, and said sales to date show strong growth. Intel's channel grew from the sale of 33,400 Xeon processors in 2001 to 340,000 last year, he said.

"We think we can do [two times] that in '03," Dallman said. The current run rate of Xeons in North America channels is 760,000 units for the year, he said."It's a huge opportunity, and we can make a lot of money at this," he said.

In addition, Dallman noted the continuing pressure on business IT departments to upgrade desktops. "There's a huge PC opportunity that's beginning to build," he said. If last year's flat-line sales numbers in the desktop space continue in 2003, Dallman said, 50 percent of all desktops in 2004 will be more than three years old. If a significant upgrade cycle doesn't begin this year, he said, "there's not enough capacity in the world to take care of all the demand in 2004."