1. What is the customer-centric approach taken by AMD? Applying this approach, what actions did AMD take? a.

AMD always had a customer centric approach which differentiated it from Intel. i. Opteron Design phase included : 32-64bit compatibility (Intel only had 64bit Itanium), HyperTransport (improved processing speed) and Direct Connect (improved overall performance). All these three factors contributed towards the creation a real competition for Intel, thus breaking free the market. ii. Project MAID: AMD realized early on that it required some of the Major OEM's to utilize their processors, thus building its trust and reputation in the market. This ensured that they maintained a customer centric approach. b. AMD consciously launched a customer Centric Approach as part of MAID. This included initiatives like: i. Power management - Improved Power per watt thus reducing business cost for the customer ii. Commercial Channel Council - Customer centered advisory council that provided them with feedback from the industry and market. Based on the feedback, AMD would improve their products. iii. Commercial Business Group - Was a customer relationship management team, that would get realtime market feedback in order to help tweak AMD's products. iv. Torrenza - Open Platform for customers to innovate and develop highly customized programs. This move ensured that AMD would put its customer before itself and create a culture that was difficult for Intel to replicate. v. Power Campaign - Reached out to customers via a survey in order to identify the critical issues faced by their customers. They found out that Power and Cooling were the 2 biggest concerns of their customers. Consequently they launched and advertising campaign to create awareness amongst its customers on how AMD addressed those concerns. 2. How did Intel reach its dominant market position? What is Intels approach with the customers? a. Created an industry wide standard for Microprocessors by: i. Integration of its components to ensure all chipsets and their accessories were purchased from Intel

ii. Incentives for ODM (cash),OEM's (Intel Inside campaign), Retailers (Co-op funding) to promote Intel iii. Intel Inside Ad campaign so as to have a Technology Push in order to generate a Market Pull. b. Intel positioned itself amongst its customers as a 'reliable' and 'Technology leader'. i. This made Intel typically the first choice whilst deciding on a Processor. ii. Customers relied on Intel to show them the roadmap for future technology investments. iii. Heavy investments in Research and Development leading to large advances in performance and even shorter product life cycles. iv. Vpro Bundling to change consumer behavior to not only buy processors but also other components. 3. Can AMDs success of Opteron in the server segment be leveraged to the segment of corporate desktop and notebooks? a. Yes Opteron can be leveraged to target the corporate notebook and desktop segment. AMD has already got its foot into the corporate server segment by delivering better overall performance, better performance per dollar and better performance per watt. If AMD is able to demonstrate similar commitment towards the desktop and notebook segment, corporations would be able to trust AMD with other business. b. The success of Opteron also depends on success of Project MAID. This would ensure the support of critical OEM's who already have a large presence in the corporate desktop and notebook segment. 4. Will AMDs customer centric approach be a source of competitive advantage over Intel? Will it yield commercially viable innovations that are dramatically different than those Intel will develop? a. In the short run, the customer centric approach would be a competitive advantage. However, in the long run, it would not be very difficult for Intel to replicate this model. AMD would have to constantly have its 'ear to the ground' in order to ensure customer retention. b. The processor industry is highly capital intensive and innovation driven. To survive, companies will have to stay ahead of the curve in order to offer the latest and most reliable products. The customers in this industry vary significantly and so do their objectives (Energy, Money, Efficiency). The key to success would lie in meeting all

customer objectives with the product line. AMD's customer centric approach ensures that it is creating technology that meets customer objectives. However, this may not necessarily lead to more innovation. AMD would have to also make investments in R&D to ensure that it continues to challenge Intel in product development.