Microsoft to use AMD Epyc server chips for Azure “by the end of the year”

AMD is making attempts at re-joining the server chip market and Microsoft is helping by setting plans for using AMD’s Epyc server chips for Azure (via Bloomberg)

The new AMD Epyc server chips offer more performance and are much cheaper than those from Intel, ranging from $400 to $4,000 per chip in price. Intel, however, remains the giant in the server chip market, and AMD has not really put up much competition. Data compiled by Bloomberg shows that in 2016, Intel’s data center division sales totaled roughly about $18 billion, while AMD’s total revenue only was at $4 billion.

In a short statement, Girish Bablani, corporate vice president of Azure Compute at Microsoft, commented on the company choosing AMD for Azure.

“Microsoft intends to be the first global cloud provider to deliver AMD Epyc, and its combination of high performance and value, to customers by the end of the year.”

AMD’s Chief Executive Officer, Lisa Su, mentioned that the company is hoping to get back to success.

“Today we’re at less than 1 percent. At our peak we were above 25 percent…We’re realistic in that will take some time — across the next couple of years.”

Noted by Barron’s, Intel fired back at AMD, and pointed to their Xeon Scalable processors, 20-year data center innovation, and their broad ecosystem investments.

HP, Dell, Lenovo, and other also have plans to offer servers based on AMD’s Epyc chip. Shares of AMD were up 16 cents on Tuesday, showing that investors may have new confidence in the company.

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