Thursday, February 6, 2003
Intel thinks a rebound in corporate spending on information technology is just around the corner, driven by the need to update aging desktop computers, and Intel is getting ready for it.
"I think you'll see that people are going to have to move (to new PCs) in order to get the support they need," Leslie Culbertson, the company's director of corporate finance, said at the Thomas Weisel Partners technology conference.
Among the factors that will drive upgrades are an aging base of installed computers, an increase in security problems and the fact that Microsoft is dropping support for Windows 98 this year, she said.
"No, we have not seen an upgrade cycle," Culbertson said, "(but) we believe it's time for an upgrade cycle."
Culbertson said the semiconductor industry, which is coming off its worst slump ever, is "clearly in a downturn, but we believe it will improve."
Intel's goal, she said, is to continue investing so it can be prepared when the general economy and PC market recovers.
One area of concentration is wireless, particularly Intel's new Centrino package of processor, networking software and chipsets built specifically for wireless PC applications.
Centrino will be available in computers in March, with service in airports and hotels in April, according to Culbertson.
The U.S. Semiconductor Industry Association has forecast growth of nearly 20 percent this year, although some Wall Street analysts are projecting growth of about half that.
By: DocMemory
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