Large chipmaker Intel declares that improving standards in the whitebook market will make systems integrators and white-box builders more able to compete in the market and grow their companies. Standards will simplify the job of tracking changes and help eliminate challenges of inventory that keep whitebooks down. Similarly, if all whitebooks used the same power supplies, screens and optics based on a set of pre-determined standards across the board, parts would be more available and affordable for everyone.
Creating uniform standards to help systems integrators and white-box builders would be difficult, since whitebooks are custom-made machines designed to meet the many different requirements of buyers. Also, even if the cost was reduced on parts and components, whitebooks based on standards would never be able to compete price-wise with low-end machines built by Dell, Hewlett Packard, Lenovo and other computer makers.
However, Intel points out that price isn’t the major issue. The extra value brought by systems integrators and whitebook makers are where profits will come into play. According to Intel spokespeople, because Dell and HP have much higher value of scale, systems integrators need to look for value through services. “Faster” and “cheaper” is not the issue – it’s the value of the entire process.
Standardizing whitebook components will give systems integrators new opportunity because the increased availability of parts will make it much easier and more affordable for them to fix and maintain custom-made devices. At this moment in time, it is often easier to replace the entire notebook rather than buy individual parts.
Intel is working with many whitebook manufacturers and distributors to design a new model that will illustrate its points about standardization. The chipmaker wants to illustrate that having parts available to system integrators will help them eliminate the issue of carrying too many unused spare parts. Intel will make its new dual-core chips, Napa architecture and Centrino 2 technologies a part of this new whitebook market.
Intel knows there will be some serious tension with major brand notebook makers because the whitebook market will inevitably cut into theirs, but stresses that things will level out as the notebook market in general grows and leaves profit for every type of company. Intel believes its entry into the whitebooks market will double the market’s size within the next year.
Microsoft, a major supporter of Intel technologies, are skeptical that Intel can truly bring down the cost of whitebooks, but supportive of the new initiative. Local systems-builders for the company intend to provide whitebook makers with additional applications and technologies that will help systems integrators and the end users of the computers.
Added By: Computer Consulting 101
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