Advanced Micro Devices
At a time when cost-efficiency and space-saving are the real game changers in the world of servers, what does SeaMicro really have that can boost AMD's prospects in the long run? Let's find out.
Why SeaMicro?
With an impressive customer list, including Skype and Mozilla (all of which will now go into AMD's kitty), SeaMicro specializes in microservers that consume significantly less power while providing around 12 times more bandwidth than conventional servers. Apart from the obvious fact that less power translates to lower costs, the company's microservers occupy much less space as well. No wonder then that SeaMicro has topped AMD's priority acquisition list. And I still haven't told you the best part yet -- where cloud computing plays a major role.
A walk in the clouds
AMD's biggest future advantage from the deal seems to lie in the realm of cloud computing. Servers that require less space and offer greater bandwidths at lower costs are the ones that will perfectly match the requirements of cloud computing. With cloud data centers slated to be the fastest movers in the server space at least up to 2015 according to the International Data Corp., everyone from search engine behemoths to social networking giants that are banking heavily on cloud computing are aware of their importance. The combination of AMD's very own Opteron technology with that of SeaMicro's should attract existing customers such as Hewlett-Packard and Dell. And this will help ward off competition as well.
The formidable "others"
Market competitor Intel is certainly expanding its portfolio even further as it plans to tie up with Motorola Mobility and Lenovo, among others. While Intel also has to contend with formidable rival ARM Holdings
Some Foolish last words
The way I see it, the SeaMicro acquisition might be AMD's best move to date, the results of which will be evident toward the end of this year. Apart from being one up on longtime rival Intel, the company has strategically placed itself to grab a larger share of the cloud computing pie. Time to keep an eye on this stock.
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