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I like that idea, just for how crazy it is! My bear case for Intel Web Services would be: 1. As IBM, HP and others discovered, the expertise required to run c
by discodave 6y ago
I like that idea, just for how crazy it is!
My bear case for Intel Web Services would be:
1. As IBM, HP and others discovered, the expertise required to run cloud services is very different from what's required to sell servers (or CPUs).
2. To compete with Amazon and MS, you would need to spend several tens of billions of dollars just to get a similar infrastructure footprint.
A variation on your proposal would be for Intel to buy a bunch of smaller cloud players, like DigitalOcean, and CloudFlare. Intel has the huge amounts of cash that these companies need to compete with AWS and Azure, Intel would then be vertically integrated, just like AWS is, and they would get the customer base and expertise from those acquisitions.
- ethbr0 6y agoI think Intel's core offering would be value-add neutrality, which is attractive compared to building on (and competing with) first party AWS/GCP. DigitalOcean, CloudFlare, etc would definitely have to be involved... but it's a tricky balancing act to avoid their becoming dominant solutions, at which point you would have AWS, except as a combination of companies. Not sure how to square that circle. Maybe an extension of the Open Compute group + FRAND licensing of Apache-style preferred value add solutions on top, with Intel operating the hardware as a certified implementation? Essentially enabling MVNOs for cloud. Intel's key distinction from foundry-less competitors, is that they can scale capacity to whatever they want, at least on older nodes. And the more volume they scale to, the more they ammortize their own costs (ie fab version of Amazon's AWS rationale). The key would be establishing an ecosystem where innovation at the higher levels, and FRAND licensing of same, financially rewarded and incentivized players to invest in the platform.