Intel CEO: Cloud, IoT, 5G, Moore's Law and customer-programmable chips will determine future of restructured company
'It's about transforming from a PC company to powering the cloud and billons of connected devices' says Krzanich
Intel CEO Brian Krzanich has outlined the "five core beliefs" that will guide the future direction of the company, which is undergoing a major restructure that will see it lay off around 11 per cent of its workforce.
Krzanich argues in a blog posted yesterday that streamlining the company will allow Intel to leverage "tremendous assets and advantages", which he says include its "spirit of innovation", "technology and manufacturing leadership" and "the trust of [Intel's] customers".
Beyond this, Krzanich lays out "five core beliefs" that he sees as "undeniably true for the future" of Intel.
First is the cloud, which Krzanich calls "the most important trend shaping the future of the smart, connected world - and thus Intel's future".
He says the many "things" that constitute the Internet of Things, as well as all the devices in Intel's PC client business, are "much more valuable by their connection to the cloud".
Memory and "programmable solutions" such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA) - integrated circuits that can be configured by end users after manufacturing - will drive "entirely new classes of products" in both data centres and IoT, says Krzanich, while 5G will become "the key technology" for cloud access.
Moore's Law, Krzanich argues, will "continue to progress", despite the company recently deciding to shift from its traditional, iterative ‘tick-tock' microprocessor development cycle as it reaches the limits of what can be physically achieved with copper on silicon.
Overall, Krzanich concludes, when "putting together" these principles, Intel is "uniquely positioned to power the cloud and drive the increasingly smart, connected world".
"Our strategy itself is about transforming Intel from a PC company to a company that powers the cloud and billions of smart, connected computing devices," he writes.