February 21st, 2007
Dell and AMD, sitting in a tree
Advanced Micro Devices’ CEO, Hector Ruiz, feels the chipmaker’s partnership with Dell is moving forward, CRN reports, here.
The report contradicts others which, of late, have said Dell might be backing away from its partnership with AMD. But I was having a hard time understanding the direction of those reports anyway. Why? Dell executives have told me personally that they thought the company should have offered AMD chips much sooner. We’ve also seen Michael Dell himself state that the company will continue with a dual-supplier strategy for processors. Meanwhile, Dell is under pressure to give customers more of what they these days versus taking away any offerings.
Dell began offering AMD desktops last September. It then moved rapidly to introduce AMD models across its product lines. It now offers at least one AMD Turion notebook and one AMD Athlon desktop model each for both consumers and businesses. It also offers a pair of AMD Opteron servers. Its high-end Dell XPS line and its Precision workstations remain Intel-only machines.
Customers’ wants and needs vary. But, these days, businesses are asking manufacturers to enter bids with AMD-based desktops and servers. Meanwhile, many consumers want AMD for what they perceive to be its price-performance mix.
Dell already faces several problems, including its well-documented customer service issues. Right now the company needs to be bold and to offer more captivating product designs in addition to improved service in order to win back customers’ trust. Taking away AMD chips won’t help that. I could be wrong and Dell could pull its AMD models. But, for the company's sake, I hope not.
