Intel quad-core processors benefit Indian enterprises

Monday, 23 July 2007, 19:30 IST
Printer Print Email Email
Jaipur: Indian enterprises have begun adopting Intel's quad-core Xeon processors in their desktops and mainstream servers for making optimum use of their IT investments and reducing the cost of operations. Intel claims it has sold a million multi-core processors -- Xeon for servers and 2 Extreme families for desktop PCs - within a year of launch. In the subcontinent, Bajaj Allianz, Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and United Breweries have been first off the block to deploy the processors for driving efficiency and productivity. "The quad-core microprocessors have ushered a new era of computing and created a host of opportunities for science, entertainment and business. The fact that we sold over a million of them (chips) worldwide since their launch last year is a testimony to their high performance and energy efficiency," Intel South Asia sales director R. Ravichandran told IANS on the sidelines of an industry-media conclave here this weekend. Bajaj Allianz's IT systems and infrastructure head Shailendra Nair said the processors had enabled the insurance firm to achieve 45 percent cost reduction and improve operational efficiency of its IT systems. "Unlike dual core, multi-core processors enhance performance, scaling and headroom for expansion, besides reducing the cost of ownership for the same price. We have also benefited in terms of space and manageability," Nair noted. The core micro-architecture of the processors enable enterprises run more applications with a smaller footprint, giving revolutionary ways to achieve more with less. With about 50 percent higher performance than the dual-core for the same energy consumption, the quad-core processors boost power efficiency by three times, while increasing data-centre output density. With the power of four chips loaded in a single microprocessor, the quad-core products operate at high speed to accelerate the performance of servers, workstations, digital media creation and high-end gaming. "We have released worldwide 13 quad core processors so far in 50, 80 and 120watt power and are in the process of releasing new versions in the second half of this year. Their clusters provide a consolidated environment and the operating system (OS) can handle multiple CPUs (central processing units)," Ravichandran pointed out. Leading construction and infrastructure group L&T was looking for a cost-effective solution to consolidate its e-mail and data archival applications and chose Intel quad core servers for better price to performance and manageability benefits with optimal utilisation of hardware. "We looked at a solution that would allow us to migrate from a standalone environment to a consolidated one. We found Intel's quad core generates that extra threads, when executed on multi-core processor," L&T's IT head Anantha Sayana recalled.
Source: IANS