Channel Leader: Intel 13th Gen Processors Will Lift Struggling PC Market
Intel’s John Kalvin is optimistic that the company's new CPUs will provide opportunity to partners.
November 29, 2022
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Intel’s John Kalvin: “We hear consistently from partners that they see these innovation moments around new Intel technology as an opportunity to refresh their product lines, drive innovation in terms of what they’re creating to bring better value to their customers. They want to be there as early as possible in the cycle. They are interested in the margin opportunity around the launch moments and an opportunity to win and transition versus their competition.”
JK: “There’s a lot of work that goes into engineering, including designing the boards, testing and integration. We do design reviews, if you’re making a board and need to have it ready for 13th Gen. We do layout reviews, firmware reviews and acoustic testing at the system level. We did 200 design reviews leading up to the Raptor Lake launch with all the major board manufacturers in Asia.
“We work with power supply vendors. Our design engineers make some voltage test tools available in target probes. These are all different tools to accelerate time to market for people doing system building. And then, we shipped over 1,000 development kits to memory vendors to do all the memory testing to ensure that those products are tested and validated and then ready to be in the market at the same time. The result is hundreds of designs at launch and then thousands of designs coming out over the subsequent months for system builders to build all of their products.”
JK: “Earlier this year, we acquired Granulate. They have some fantastic technology around workload acceleration without code changes for the cloud. Another example of resources for ISVs is Dev Cloud, where we’re making our technology available earlier in the cloud for them to connect to optimized code earlier. The idea with Dev Cloud is to enable ISVs to have access to our technology sooner, so they can optimize their code sooner. We can get better value together, delivered out into a completed solution for, pick your favorite industry.”
JK: “We expect this to be our fastest overall desktop ramp in the last five years. Two elements define the overall demand profile. We’ve talked about the economic headwinds during our earnings, but within that, there’s a lot of demand for 13th Gen’s new features. The performance improvements will appeal to creators and enthusiasts. And that’s led by the channel, because the channel consumes the vast majority of these case SKUs. We feel good about the 13th Gen ramp in the context of the overall PC environment.”
JK: “We put a lot of work into training, now available in 13 different languages around the world. And this training is designed for our partners to load in to help their marketers, especially their salespeople, who may have been working on other products up to that point, to understand the value of 13th Gen. And the value proposition that they’re delivering to their customer.”
JK: “Going to market with Intel is a big part of the brand. We have a co-marketing effort with our partner ecosystem. We have partner marketing studios with … a mechanical tool that they use. They can take all the messaging, co-branding and marketing assets and tailor them to tell their story. There’s a big effort around all of that. And there is some targeted MDF with some of our partners.”
JK: “As partners start selling our products, we offer points with the Intel Partner Alliance program. One of the benefits after we get rolling on sales are points that are accrued as you buy and sell a product with 13 Gen or many of our products.”
JK: “Our post-launch, or the overall support engine, includes things like advanced warranty replacement, but also just help for those who need it. Technical or otherwise, I’d say we’re fairly well known for our great support standing behind the channel.”
JK: “Overall, we’ve seen quite a bit of improvement in the products we build over the last 12-18 months. I don’t want to say that it’s perfect. Still, every day the manufacturing team is working incredibly hard to ensure that we’re maximizing the output by working upstream with our suppliers to ensure we have the raw materials and then maximizing the output from our factories. We also do a lot of work with the rest of the ecosystem on the bill of materials outside of the Intel components and guidance to the ecosystem. We also work to make sure everybody sees the opportunities that we see. This is improving, but not perfect also.”
JK: “[Intel CEO] Pat [Gelsinger] is an ecosystem partner, customer-focused leader. I think the transformation that he’s driving at Intel has been profound in general. He has expanded our manufacturing footprint to have this robust, globally balanced supply chain. He is accelerating our process technologies: five nodes in four years, a period of “Super Moore’s Law,” as Pat likes to refer to it. He’s accelerating our product-line innovation and driving the company from a culture standpoint back to execution, making and meeting our commitments to our customers and partners. I can tell you firsthand that he drives a lot of energy down through the organization to make sure we’re executing for our customers and partners. It’s a very exciting transformation.”
JK: “It’s a major growth strategy for the company. It’s part of building out this resilient big factoring network over time to build for ourselves, our own products, but also to build for other fabless semiconductor companies. We’re investing in the capacity, yes, for Intel, but also for the partner ecosystem and the entire industry. Our partners will see a more robust supply of semiconductors over time. They see that as incredibly important to their business long term.”
JK: “It’s a major growth strategy for the company. It’s part of building out this resilient big factoring network over time to build for ourselves, our own products, but also to build for other fabless semiconductor companies. We’re investing in the capacity, yes, for Intel, but also for the partner ecosystem and the entire industry. Our partners will see a more robust supply of semiconductors over time. They see that as incredibly important to their business long term.”
John Kalvin is bullish that the new Intel 13th Gen Core desktop processors will create opportunities for its partner ecosystem. Kalvin, who became the company’s global channel chief two years ago, is optimistic about demand despite the heavy headwinds facing Intel.
This year’s economic downturn doesn’t bode well for PC makers in 2023. After missing forecast revenues for two consecutive quarters, CEO Pat Gelsinger announced a $10 billion cost reduction plan last month. According to Gartner, PC shipments declined nearly 20% during the third quarter of this year.
The current economic climate notwithstanding, Kalvin said Intel’s 13th Gen processor, code-named Raptor Lake, will fuel new high-end systems. Intel started shipping the first 13th Gen Core processors last month for desktop systems.
Available with up to 24 cores, Intel claims they offer up to 40% higher multi-threaded performance over the Gen line. Intel hasn’t launched the mobile versions of 13th Gen, but the company tends to preview its newest wares in January at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES).
Intel’s John Kalvin
In an interview with Channel Futures, Kalvin explained how Intel provides readiness to its broad partner ecosystem. Except for the top OEMs, Kalvin’s organization supports system builders, ISVs, global systems integrators, MSPs, solution providers and ODMs.
“We look after those broad scaling motions for all of those commercial partners,” he said. Kalvin, a 24-year company veteran, also shared how Intel is navigating the current downturn from a go-to-market perspective.
We broke down outtakes from that interview in the slideshow above.
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