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Yeah, I know...but if you are fighting a bigger guy would you rather try to ...
Silicon Valley Nation: ARM's expansion challenge
Brian Fuller
11/2/2012 4:30 PM EDT
Warren East's view
For his part, ARM CEO Warren East doesn't underestimate the challenge. He also isn't daunted by it. In an interview this week, he said:
He pointed to the big product announcements of the week the ARM A57 and A53.
East said "a big chunk" of development is the same, while "clearly there's a little bit of creating the right [embedded] ecosystem that's slightly different than the ecosystem from servers. You have to do an ecosystem that's a little different. I don't think it's that much of a challenge."
Time will tell, of course, whether ARM's relentless growth and success will translate into these new markets and whether those of you who are designing embedded systems or servers will embrace ARM. Or whether the words from the old Grateful Dead tune will echo from Cambridge:
Related stories:
--Custom cores in the cards for AMD, ARM?
--ARM gets weapon in server battle against Intel
--Slideshow: ARM A57 core revealed
--Microprocessor server benchmarks seen as irrelevant
For his part, ARM CEO Warren East doesn't underestimate the challenge. He also isn't daunted by it. In an interview this week, he said:
"The real answer is [maintaining focus during expansion is] hard. That's why as shareholders you pay us money. Focus and operating in multiple places is an oxymoron. [But] when you look at ARM technology ... you do develop the mobile stuff and it is actually quite applicable."
He pointed to the big product announcements of the week the ARM A57 and A53.
"We put a bit of a server slant on these things to promote the fact that we are getting closer to ARM in servers. But the reality is for the first few years there will be more 57s and 53s in mobile."
East said "a big chunk" of development is the same, while "clearly there's a little bit of creating the right [embedded] ecosystem that's slightly different than the ecosystem from servers. You have to do an ecosystem that's a little different. I don't think it's that much of a challenge."
Time will tell, of course, whether ARM's relentless growth and success will translate into these new markets and whether those of you who are designing embedded systems or servers will embrace ARM. Or whether the words from the old Grateful Dead tune will echo from Cambridge:
"Midnight on a carousel ride,
Reaching for the gold ring, down inside.
Never could reach it, just slipped away but I tried."
Related stories:
--Custom cores in the cards for AMD, ARM?
--ARM gets weapon in server battle against Intel
--Slideshow: ARM A57 core revealed
--Microprocessor server benchmarks seen as irrelevant
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iniewski
11/2/2012 7:17 PM EDT
Not sure I understand...why does ARM need to go to servers? mobile is not enough???
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peter.clarke
11/5/2012 5:41 AM EST
@Kris
Correct.
Businesses, like sharks, have to keep moving forward.
I remember reading ARM's revamped "vision statement" about six years ago.
It read something like this: "ARM intends to be the preferred digital architecture in everything."
At that time ARM was big in mobile and trying in other sectors and vision statements were all the rage.
I did a double take at the time but i have got used to the idea of "first mobile, then the universe."
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MikeSmith2011
11/5/2012 1:26 PM EST
Their main turf (ultramobile) is under attack by Intel so they have to respond.
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iniewski
11/5/2012 1:32 PM EST
Yeah, I know...but if you are fighting a bigger guy would you rather try to defend yourself where you are strong (mobile) or would you go and attack the bigger guy where he is strong (servers)?
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jmrowca
11/2/2012 8:08 PM EDT
because of the lower power vs Intel for the supe compute horsepower. It's green
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rick.merritt
11/5/2012 12:45 PM EST
I'm no microcontroller guru, but my sense is ARM is pretty far along in surrounding that market in which a few remaining proprietary architectures have circled their wagons.
As for servers, ARM still has some heavy lifting to do in ecosystem software and the key 64-bit chips won't even arrive until 2014, so we are just in the preface of this book.
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iniewski
11/5/2012 12:58 PM EST
I agree Rick...I think it is going to be long and uphill road for ARM to conquer server space...despite Peter's response I am still not convinced why they don't just focus on mobile which is a huge market on its own to propel them into the top 10 semi vendors shortly...kris
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MikeSmith2011
11/5/2012 1:32 PM EST
Servers is a gamble for ARM. They have very little invested in it. They are counting on their partners - Calxeda, AppliedMicro, AMD and others to invest millions and take the risk. All they have to do is to define the architecture, work on enabling the ecosystem and stand back and watch the battle.
Quite clever.
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moronda
11/6/2012 6:29 AM EST
MIPS just got bought by Imagination.
http://www.zdnet.com/chip-designer-mips-acquired-for-60m-patents-sold-for-350m-7000006969/
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