Partners Cheer Intel Executive's Call For Company To 'Win' In Internet Of Things

Partners are applauding an Intel executive’s call for the company to ’win’ in the Internet of Things, saying data and cloud services open more opportunities for the channel.

’The key to influencing growth is the data that can now be collected, gathered and analyzed,’ said Kent Tibbils, vice president of marketing at ASI, a Fremont, Calif.-based Intel systems builder. ’Think about wearables that gather information on the number of steps taken in a day, distance walked, and so on. That data can be collected and used to tell the owner how many calories they burned and how that compared to previous days and ultimately how that compares to other people.’

Murthy Renduchintala, president of Intel’s client and IoT business and Systems Architecture group, said in a blog post he had faith in the company’s ability to ’win in the connectivity revolution fueled by the IoT.’

[Related: Google's Amit Singh Leaving Enterprise Leadership Role]

’We’re aligning our products and architectures to an entire panorama of smart and connected devices, and in so doing we’re enabling exciting new experiences,’ he said. ’Shifting our SoC approach to embrace a smart and connected world of more than 50 billion devices will unlock tremendous value for our customers and our shareholders.’

Intel has been hitting the Internet of Things fast and hard. A week after the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company said it would cut 11 percent of its workforce as part of its initiative to "intensify focus in high-growth areas,’ CEO Brian Krzanich wrote in a blog post that Intel was transforming from a PC company to one that powers the cloud and connected computing devices.

Intel’s first-quarter earnings report revealed that the company’s Internet of Things segment grew 22 percent over the year-earlier quarter.

’I like the fact that [Intel is] focusing on the Internet of Things,’ said Martin Smekal, president and CEO of Torrance, Calif.-based Intel partner TabletKiosk. ’IoT is slow and is still developing … there’s a lot of applications for partners in the IoT space.’

Renduchintala, a former Qualcomm executive, appears to be spearheading Intel’s transformation and embrace of the Internet of Things. The executive a few weeks ago blasted the current development of several products -- including the Kaby Lake and Cannon Lake processors -- in an internal memo obtained by The Oregonian.

For Smekal, Renduchuntala may represent ’new blood’ that gives Intel a new perspective, such as tapping into the lucrative IoT market.

’It never hurts to get some new perspective; it’s nice to see he’s bringing in some different thoughts,’ said Smekal. ’He’s got some incredible experience.. ... Qualcomm from an operations standpoint has got some great traction in the mobile market.’