Friday, May 16, 2003
Intel CEO Craig Barrett told reporters in a meeting in New York that he remains cautious in the near-term about a recovery in the technology industry, as well as the impact of SARS on the company's business, but that he is optimistic about the future.
Barrett predicted that corporations are getting ready to upgrade their information-technology systems, a much-anticipated move that is expected to drive an economic recovery. Companies that do not invest in new technology, he warned, will be left behind in a ``jobless recovery.''
Intel is beefing up its own IT infrastructure. This year, Intel plans to buy 35,000 desktop PCs and notebooks, a move Chief Financial Officer Andy Bryant had been putting off until he was convinced that the company would get more productivity out of its employees if more of them had notebook computers, equipped, naturally, with Intel's wireless Centrino technology. He also said that after three years, PCs need much more maintenance and the cost of ownership increases.
Barrett also noted that he was wary about the impact SARS, severe acute respiratory syndrome, would have on Intel's business. So far, he said, the world's largest chip maker has not seen any impact on its sales. The company canceled two Intel Developer Forums in Asia, one in Taipei and another in Beijing, because of the illness.
Barrett said he is looking for slower growth rates going forward for the total semiconductor industry, which saw a marginal uptick in 2002 to $140.7 billion, up 1.3 percent from 2001's sales of $138.9 billion. The year 2001 was the worst point in the downturn, when worldwide chip sales fell an unprecedented 31 percent.
By: DocMemory
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