Intel continues to be one of the financial stars of the IT industry. In July, the chip giant reported record second-quarter sales of $9.2bn (£5.1bn), with profits of $2bn (£1.1bn). But despite its success, the company initiated a major reorganisation in January, when 45,000 of its 85,000 staff were told they would have a new boss within the next 60 days.

Computing talked exclusively to Intel's UK managing director, Rick Skett, to find out what the future holds for the world's biggest processor maker.

What was the reason for such a widespread reorganisation?

It was a realisation that users are looking for more than a Megahertz race. They are looking for more value from the platform, and we feel we are ready to translate architecture decisions into true user benefits, particularly around mobility.

Two years ago we introduced Centrino technology. That was an architecture defined from a user perspective on what would give mobile users value. It is not just about developing another processor, but developing the supporting chipsets and radio technology, and working with the industry to deliver devices.

So we came out with mobile devices that took advantage of longer battery life, after working with the battery suppliers and system designers on devices that are very thin and light. We worked with the telecoms industry to deliver the infrastructure based on wireless Lans.

And in time we will be delivering ultra-wideband technology and WiMax wireless capability. That's an example of going from looking for an opportunity to sell chips to looking at what the market really needs several years ahead. We have applied that to several areas that will not just generate business for Intel, but stimulate the industry.

Mobile technology is rapidly growing in popularity but some users still find the experience frustrating. What needs to be done to improve it?

You can argue that the technology is not joined up. We have to ask how we can provide processors and chipsets that will allow us to support all sorts of devices. We are working with the standards and regulatory bodies to deploy

technologies such as WiMax, from base stations to device to clients to the transmission systems. By 2007, we will have Centrino mobile notebooks that won't be connecting at 54Mbit/s as they can do today; it will be 100Mbit/s. You will be able to stream live data feeds at high-bandwidth broadband rates, with live TV-quality or high-definition video on your notebook PC. 

GSM is a fairly robust mobile technology, but it's not really a good solid data network. Once you can start to provide broadband speeds to a notebook PC it will make a significant difference.

Moore's Law has applied to the growing speeds of processors for 40 years, but the use of IT now is less about faster chips and more about innovative ways of using technology. How does that affect Intel?

Two years ago we had a bunch of product marketing people who would go out and do surveys and ask retailers what they are selling, and there was no real view of the future. We now employ behavioural scientists and ethnographers who are trying to look further out and think what problems we need to solve.

In business, the challenges we face are more predictable. There's an insatiable demand for increasing performance and amounts of memory addressing, and concerns around security. We are putting in virtualisation capabilities, security features, greater memory addressing, all of those kind of features.

We predict that Moore's Law will continue, with twice the number of silicon devices on a chip every 24 months. We're not just doing that to improve clock speeds but to develop more functionality.

Intel is also one of the world's biggest venture capital firms. What sort of technologies is the company investing in?

We continue to look at the opportunities in wireless technology. We invest in software companies, silicon technology companies, and companies that have solutions we can deliver either as an application, or as part of the silicon.

You have to think about how far silicon can go. Today, the distance between adjacent transistors on a chip is only about four or five atoms. How do you stop thermal leakage between devices? We have to stretch atoms. We stretch the silicon lattice to allow data to pass more freely. These are examples of where we will continue to innovate.

PCs are becoming ubiquitous. How much more growth is there in that market?

I'd like to think that in two years' time, at least 70 per cent of households will own a PC, and 100 per cent of people will have access to a PC, should they want it. I hope that in two to three years it will be an essential part of productivity and lifestyle. I think the government has very similar views: that a connected computing device will help to drive the transformation of public service delivery.

The government has relaunched the Home Computing Initiative. The programme is now the fastest-growing staff benefit that employers are offering. About 400,000 computers have been delivered through employer schemes since January last year.