Intel INTC recently unveiled innovations to Optane technology and 3D NAND portfolio. The company aims to offer advanced data storage options to enterprises with complex AI, cloud, and network edge workloads.
Management noted that the second-generation of Intel’s Optane DC Persistent Memory, dubbed “Barlow Pass,” is slated for 2020 release. The company is bridging the gap between its storage and CPU business by integrating Barlow Pass with latest Xeon Scalable CPUs.
Intel also announced that it will introduce data center solid-state drives (SSDs) based on 144-layer QLC (or Quad Level Cell) NAND technology in 2020. The new drives are anticipated to reduce the total cost of ownership of data center customers.
Intel believes that its Optane DC Persistent Memory integrated with QLC NAND technology provides enterprises high-performance storage solutions capable of data-centric computing over traditional hard-disk drives.
Additionally, the company showcased latest single-port SSD for select enterprise customers, based on its Optane technology. It is anticipated to be available in 2020. However, the company hasn’t revealed any detail on pricing of the new solutions.
Notably, secular growth rate in data requires a sturdy solution to harness the real-time analysis and obtain potent business value. This favors Intel’s focus on enhancing data-center and enterprise storage solutions.
Portfolio Expansion Holds Promise
Intel is investing heavily in order to deliver high-capacity storage solutions that would support expansion of cloud infrastructure and cloud applications, which bode well given favorable market trends. In fact, per IDC data, global spending on public cloud services and related infrastructure is envisioned to hit $210 billion in 2019, up 23.8% over 2018.
Intel offers Optane SSDs for clients and 3D NAND technologies, which aids customers in driving innovation in solid-state drives (SSDs) and other memory products.
Per recent IDC estimates, the global datasphere will reach 175 zettabytes (that is a trillion gigabytes) by 2025, from 33 zettabytes in 2018. Effective storage system is essential to facilitate harnessing of this secular growth in data, which favors Intel’s latest solutions.
Strength in Intel’s latest high performance Xeon processors integrated with Intel’s Optane DC Persistent Memory solution are expected to witness rapid adoption. Moreover, shift of company’s data center and client SSDs to 96-layer 3D NAND and 144-layer 3D NAND is expected to improve cost per gigabyte.
Notably, Intel’s Optane DC Persistent Memory solution has already been selected by the likes of Google, Microsoft, Baidu and Alibaba. Management is elated that Microsoft MSFT is making amends to its client OS to leverage the latest Intel Optane persistent memory capabilities, including faster game loading and boot.
However, in the data-center storage market, the company faces stiff competition from Micron and Western Digital, which is likely to create pricing pressure and hurt profitability.
Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider
Intel carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the broader technology sector are Chegg CHGG and Perficient PRFT. Both the stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Long-term earnings growth rate for Chegg and Perficient is currently pegged at 30% and 10.75%, respectively.
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