Intel: replacement of Windows XP-based PCs will help us in 2014

Chief executive officer of Intel Corp. said that replacement of Windows XP-based personal computers by businesses and enterprises will help the company to sell more microprocessors this fiscal year. While the company does not want to make predictions regarding next year, it does not exclude the possibility that the replacements will continue in 2015.

“We believe the [Windows] XP end-of-life kind of replacement will at least play through the end of the year and that’s as far as we have looked at it,” said Brian Krzanich, chief executive officer of Intel, during the quarterly conference call with financial analysts and investors. “It can go beyond that. […] We just have not really started to put our predictions and our estimates for 2015 together yet.”

Intel estimates that at present there are over 600 million of personal computers that are four years old and even older. A significant part of them are based on the Windows XP operating system and they are going to be replaced rather sooner than later, which represents additional opportunities going forward for Intel as well as its arch-rival Advanced Micro Devices.

What remains to be seen is when Windows 7-based systems made in 2010 – 2011 are set to be replaced. Such personal computers are powered by rather advanced microprocessors, offer decent performance and will be supported with security updates until 2020.

After Microsoft ceased to provide security updates for its Windows XP operating system this April, businesses and enterprises started to replace their old personal computers with new ones powered by Windows 7 OS.

According to Intel, thanks to the end-of-life of Microsoft’s Windows XP operating system it managed to sell more processors for both desktops and notebooks.

For the second quarter of fiscal 2014 the world’s largest chipmaker reported revenue of $13.8 billion, up from $13.0 billion expected previously. The firm attributed additional revenue to increased sales of microprocessors for business PCs, such as the Core i-series chips with the vPro technology. Intel’s PC client group’s revenue during the Q2 FY2014 was $8.7 billion, up 9 per cent sequentially and up 6 per cent year-over-year.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: over 600 million old PCs that need replacement is clearly a huge opportunity for Intel and other chipmakers. However, when it comes to enthusiast-class PCs, many of three-year old Sandy Bridge-based machines will not be replaced this year or next simply because modern quad-core processors hardly provide substantial performance advantage compared to those old machines…

Become a Patron!