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AMD Opteron
Ravi Madapati
Faculty Member
Icfai Knowledge Center
Itanium, Intel’s first 64-bit
microprocessor has failed, while Opteron, AMD’s first 64-bit microprocessor
released in mid-2003 has received strong performance reviews. Many companies
such as Dell and IBM, which have been staunch supporters of Intel, have
announced plans to use Opteron. As Intel prepares itself for the launch of
Itanium 2, Opteron looks well placed to face the challenge.
“With the launch of our Opteron and
Athlon 64 processors, we have the ability to revolutionize computing— from
high-end servers to high-performance desktop systems, to small form factor
devices. We have the potential to change the very landscape of computing based
on an architecture that represents the essence of customer-centric innovation.”
- Hector Ruiz, CEO, AMD[1].
In early 2003, Hector Ruiz (Ruiz), CEO
of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), was reflecting on how his company was faring in
its battle with Intel in the 64-bit microprocessor market. Itanium, Intel’s
first 64-bit microprocessor had failed. Opteron, AMD’s 64-bit microprocessor
released in mid-2003 received strong performance reviews. Many companies such as
Dell and IBM, which had been staunch supporters of Intel had announced plans to
use Opteron. As Intel prepared itself for the launch of Itanium 2, Opteron
looked well placed to face the challenge. But AMD also knew that a powerful
player like Intel could never be underestimated.
BACKGROUND NOTE
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Founded in 1969 and based in Sunnyvale, California, AMD had emerged as a global
supplier of integrated circuits for the personal and networked computer and
communications markets. AMD produced microprocessors, flash memory devices, and
silicon-based solutions for communications and networking applications.
By the summer of 1969, Jerry Sanders(Jerry), who had left his job as director
of worldwide
marketing at Fairchild Semiconductor and seven others had been toiling for
months to pull together their start-up. Jerry was confident of building a
successful semiconductor business by offering building
blocks of ever-increasing complexity to benefit the manufacturers of
electronic equipment in the computation, communication and instrumentation
markets. By September 1969, AMD had raised the money, it needed to begin
manufacturing products. During AMD’s initial years, many of its products were
alternate-source devices, i.e., products obtained from other companies that
were then redesigned for greater speed and efficiency.
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This was called “Parametric superiority”. To give the products a competitive
edge, the company guaranteed a level of quality that was unprecedented in the
industry. All products were made and tested to stringent standards, regardless
of who the customer was and at no extra cost.
Despite a dogged recession in 1974-75,
when sales briefly slipped, AMD’s sales grew steadily. This was also a period of
tremendous facilities expansion, including the construction of 915 DeGuigne in
Sunnyvale, an assembly facility in Manila (The Philippines), and expansion of
the Penang (Malaysia) factory. Later, new production facilities were built in
San Antonio, and more fab space was added at Austin as well. AMD quickly became
a major contender in the global semiconductor marketplace. By the end of fiscal
year 1981, AMD had more than doubled its sales over 1979.
In the early 1980s, AMD’s growth was driven by two initiatives. The first,
called the “Age of
Asparagus,” represented the company’s drive to increase the number of
proprietary products offered to the marketplace. The second was AMD’s “Catch the
Wave” recruiting advertisements. The wave portrayed the company as an
unstoppable force in the integrated circuit business. By this time, AMD had
significantly strengthened its research and development capabilities.
By the mid-1980s, the tides of change were sweeping the industry. Japanese
semiconductor makers came to dominate the memory markets and a fierce downturn
took hold of the computer market. AMD, along with the rest of the semiconductor
industry, began looking for new ways to compete in an increasingly difficult
environment. In 1989, Sanders realized the need to enter in new markets.
More>>.
Page2
Evolution of product line
Opteron
The road ahead
[1] Annual Report 2002, February 27, 2003.
© Icfai Press. Global CEO •
December 2003, All Rights
Reserved.
[1] Hertz-the international unit for measuring frequency. It is equivalent to
the older unit of cycles per second.
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