AMD aims at the Enterprise

Leak 0 Australian resellers close to AMD's plans have showed The Register details of an extensive presentation the firm is touting to its customers.

This part deals with its marchitecture, but we have also seen details of its future architecture plans, as already partly leaked at AMD Zone and at JC's Pages.

It's evident that AMD is, indeed, taking a buffalo stance on the enterprise market, which it defines as 100 plus employees, according to a presentation we saw over the weekend.

AMD marketing considers that this slug of the market offers a good opportunity for resellers, with white box sales already representing around 38 per cent of the market. It is not as brand sensitive as large corporations, which Intel still hogs, and according to AMD, is more open to local brands and white box offerings.

The total cost of ownership (TCO) argument is not a big issue in this market, says AMD. Resellers should focus on schools and local government, pull in an AMD suit when tendering, and they should also be aware they will get a better price in this segment. In the US, resellers are advised not to focus on Federal Government accounts, as "standards and bids take a year to change".

The workstation and low end server market, including NT, Unix, Linux and W2k is the target of AMD's desire, the presentation continues. Optimising workstations and graphic cards will mean that systems based on its chips will "consistently beat tier one vendors".

Resellers are urged to go for local departments of large corporations. In the server market, AMD partners should target small and medium sized business, looking to supply file servers, print servers and web hosting machines. There is an obvious way to undercut Intel pricing in these sectors, AMD advises. Chimpzilla is also taking a leaf from Intel's marketing by advising its channel of internet and mobile related opportunities.

AMD is also advising its partners where, how and when to place ads, and to target small business owners, business journals, and business sections. If advertising in trade magazines, the cost is higher and the lead time is longer.

The print ads, say AMD, should target the commercial sector, using the AMD logo, the Athlon message, and where to buy the kit. When advertising on the Web, "sponsorship" of specific sites is preferred over general banner ads. AMD will provide the Athlon banner graphics. On the telly and on radio, resellers are advised to hos their own computer talk show, and AMD "will be happy to be a frequent guest".

Partners are advised to tell the press about wins AMD has made with commercial customers, and to provide us with performance optimized systems for product reviews. (Keep 'em coming, lads).

Joint presentations with AMD to provide so-called seed programmes are encouraged. AMD will provide optimized systems and encourages its resellers to show how good they are at service and support, according to slides we saw.

AMD will provide a bunch of promotional items such as the AMD Athlon Ratt Matt, window stickers, tear pads, and Mylar (not Myanmar) stickers, it has emerged. ®