Intel services and training to bolster channel

Chip giant Intel will help its partners to mix and match hardware and a growing number of applications to tailor solutions.

Speaking at Intel’s solutions summit in Melbourne this week, Lisa Graff, vice president of the enterprise platforms and services division said software development was a priority as Intel expands beyond pure hardware sales.

“Intel is getting more into software,” she said, adding that platforms being developed by the company would “help resellers win deals”.

Last year, Intel launched its AppUp app store for netbook users. Graff said that the after-sales netbook market was growing as many users realised they wanted more processing power than the original specs.

This week, Intel foreshadowed a channel program to focus on partner opportunities in key markets, which will be supported through online resources for training and certification. The Intel technology provider program will roll out in Australia and New Zealand as part of a roadshow next month.

The Intel Enabled Solutions Acceleration Alliance gave resellers and direct equipment makers access to validated configuration guides written by the chip maker, hardware and software vendors to cut resellers' engineering costs.

On the hardware front, Intel has grown its server boards from 10 to about 30 and had nine individual connectivity modules for requirements such as 10Gb/e, Infiniband, FCoE and others.

Customers and partners can separate chassis into a front, middle and back configuration and will have designs to offer options for size, thermal layout, energy, socket count and connectivity.

Intel said it would direct more hardware sales through the channel; resellers accounted for about three-quarters of sales for Sandy Bridge.

CRN view

Whether Intel was able to create a software platform of its own remains to be seen but there was a chance it may buy a developer to speed its services ambitions.

The ability for the company’s partners to deliver products as solutions was important given the opportunities and challenges presented by markets such as cloud computing, mobility, virtualisation, high end gaming and embedded systems.