Paul Otellini has stepped down as CEO of Intel after a 40 year career at the firm (the last 8 as CEO) although he is expected to stay for the next three years as an adviser until his 65th birthday. Regardless, observers see the move as a result of Intel’s inability to move to mobility.
Actually Intel have suffered a triple whammy. The world has moved to mobile (smartphones and tablets) where Intel has no effective offering. It’s main PC market is shrinking as a result. On top of that, the corporates on which it relies are having a torrid time in the ‘developed world’.
When I was phoned by the media for comment on this last night, the inference behind the questions was that events had moved so fast that Intel couldn’t be expected to respond. Actually the move to mobile has been evident for at least a decade. Just like Microsoft and many others, they were having such a great time with on-premise systems that they couldn’t believe they would ever end.
It has.