CNet reports that Google has started placing "high volume" orders with Intel (red in chart below). That's unhappy news for AMD (blue), especially since Intel has also barged in on the exclusive relationship it's had with Sun since 2005. Here's a comparison of changes in the two company's share prices over the past month:
Considering Google's enormous data center projects in Oregon, North and South Carolina and within NASA's Ames Research Park, can you imagine what "high volume" means?
While the Sun deal required Intel to make certain commitments to Solaris, Google didn't ask Intel to endorse the non-existent-for-now GoogleOS. But Intel did have to develop unique mother board/memory module designs to meet Google's power, cooling, performance and cost requirements.
BTW, the CNet article offered some interesting data points from IDC analyst Michelle Baily:
1. New server spending is increasing at about 2-3% per year, but power/cooling costs are growing 4x faster.
2. For every $1 spent on new hardware purchases, companies spend 50 cents on power and cooling for their installed base.
(Baily's stats are oddly inconsistent with her IDC colleague Vernon Turner's report that the server market grew by 2% in Q3, 2006 alone. Gartner is even more optimistic; research director Jeff Hewitt told CRN last November that Q3 server growth was 9.1%. Go figure...)
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