Name: Ricky Banaag
Designation: Country Manager – INTEL Philippines

1. How do you marry protecting what you’ve got and moving to new markets?
(RB): The key is never to rest on your laurels. Like Andy Grove said: “Only the paranoid survive.” While we do keep track of our business performance, we also ensure that we stay attuned to the needs of our market, and listen our customers and industry partners so that it makes it easier to work with us. We constantly study the market and watch for trends both within and outside of the industry.

2. Innovation is of utmost importance to your company. How do you manage innovation and how do you encourage innovation?
(RB): As a technology company we are trained to think out of the box and to look at things in different perspectives. We foster creative thinking, embrace change and constantly challenge the status quo. We learn from both our successes and mistakes. Informed risk-taking is encouraged and this forms the basis of our passion for innovation.

3. How do you divide your responsibilities between making sure everything is right in the present and also planning for the future?
(RB): Through focus, prioritization and having a clear understanding of our objectives, we are able to balance our efforts to achieve our short-term goals while seeking opportunities for the long-term.

I am very supported by a strong team who all share the same level of commitment to achieve the high standards of excellence that Intel has set.

4. Briefly, can you state the commitment of Intel not only in terms of providing PCs to every home but wiring the world as well.
(RB): We’ve stayed true to this vision and to achieve this, all our efforts have been towards eliminating the technology gap. In terms of availability, I am proud to say that my Sales & Marketing team has succeeded in bringing Intel technologies in a timelier manner. Our customers can be assured that when a product is announced in the US, it will also simultaneously be available locally. On the affordability front, we’ve been able to address that as well, and we will continue to play a part in driving down the cost of owning a PC.

As you can see, the 45nm breakthrough has allowed us to reach more segments than ever before. Emerging markets like the Philippines are already beginning to benefit from this innovation, as more products that address the affordability gap become available such as Netbooks and Nettops. Neo eXplore for example and the Asus Eee PC retail at the below PHP 18000 price range.

5. Intel recently has been talking about the 45 nanometer technology and Wi-Max. What can the users expect from Intel in as far as these two technologies are concern?
(RB): In 2007, Intel unveiled the world’s first 16 processors built using the unique Intel 45nm process and Hafnium-based high-k metal gate transistor technologies, previously codenamed the “Penryn” family of processors. Fifteen of these are Intel Xeon family processors, and one is an Intel Core2 Extreme processor. These new eco-friendlier processors are faster, cooler, and even more energy efficient than their highly acclaimed Core micro-architecture based predecessors. The chips now shipping are lead-free and, this year, will become halogen free.

45nm Intel Core 2 Quad & Intel Centrino processor technology are already availablein the market.

Intel’s next-generation Intel Centrino processor technology for laptops (codenamed “Montevina”) built on 45nm will be launched very soon!

6. Can you give us a glimpse of what the Intel Menlo processor, ‘Tukwila’, Itanium processor, and Silverthorne processor is all about.

RB): MENLOW/SILVERTHORNE
Intel’s strategy for delivering full Internet “in your pocket” is based on using low-power Intel Architecture (IA) platforms that drastically reduce CPU and chipset power and package size for a range of ultra mobile and mobile Internet devices. Intel can achieve these lower power products thanks to its combination of reinvented transistors, 45nm manufacturing and microarchitecture design features. Intel is getting ready to ship its first-generation low-power platform, codenamed “Menlow,” in the first half of the year. The Menlow platform is comprised of the “Silverthorne” processor and the “Poulsbo” chipset, both being designed from the ground up for MIDs and UMPCs. At CES, Intel provided a sneak peek of some of the upcoming “Menlow”-based devices and applications that are being optimized for this platform.

At IDF Shanghai, Intel launched Centrino Atom Processor Technology, the company’s first-generation low-power platform for MIDs designed to enable the best Internet experience in a device that fits in your pocket. Formerly codenamed “Menlow,” Intel Centrino Atom processor technology includes the company’s first-ever Intel Atom processor (formerly “Silverthorne”) and the Intel® System Controller Hub (SCH) formerly “Poulsbo,” both of them designed from the ground up specifically for the MID segments.

The Intel Atom Microarchitecture has been designed from the ground up to deliver high performance-per-watt efficiency while maintaining full compatibility with the Core 2 Duo instruction set including support for Hyper- Threading technology, Virtualization technology and Intel Digital Media Boost (SSE3). The microarchitecture, based on Intel’s 45nm high-k process technology, implements ground-breaking power management techniques such as Intel Deep power down state (C6), Enhanced Intel SpeedStep technology, aggressive clock gating, CMOS mode and Split IO power supply to aggressively reduce average, idle, active, and leakage power consumption levels.

New Intel Atom™ Processor Family for MIDs (formerly codenamed “Silverthorne”) comprised of five new Intel Atom processors, which are the foundation for Centrino Atom processor technology was also at IDF Shanghai. The Atom processor is Intel’s smallest processor to date, represents the fastest processor in the sub-3watt space, and packs more than 47 million transistors in a single silicon die measuring less than 25mm2. Additional information is available at www.intel.com/pressroom/IDF.

TUKWILA/ITANIUM
Tukwila is Intel’s next-generation Itanium processor with four cores, 30MB total cache, QuickPath Interconnect, dual Integrated Memory Controller and mainframe-class RAS features. It is the world’s first 2 billion transistor microprocessor and is projected to deliver more than double the performance of the current generation Itanium processor. . Tukwila is designed to provide highly scalable and reliable performance for mission-critical enterprise server solutions. Delivering unmatched scalable performance, Tukwila is optimized for the intensive requirements of database, enterprise resource planning (ERP), and business intelligent (BI) applications. As a standards-based replacement for RISC, Tukwila-based servers are the answer to the increasing scalable needs of the global enterprise providing unmatched flexibility and headroom for the future.

We are incredibly committed to the Itanium roadmap, with multiple generations in development, and we look forward to continued industry momentum in the years ahead.

7. How do you manage to have high growth when so much of your business is based on PCs, which is already a mature market?
(RB): There is actually a lot of opportunity to grow in the PC industry. We only have a 10% PC penetration in the Philippines based on public figures and there are more emerging markets like China & India with billions of people who have yet to own a PC.

8. What are the recent efforts made by Intel to further address the performance and energy efficiency of computing devices?
Energy-efficient performance is the intersection of great performance supporting expanded capabilities and designed for energy efficiency. The result: Performance made energy-efficient. Intel is bringing the benefits of energy-efficient performance to the world.

As the demand for new and more powerful compute capabilities continues to grow, the need for greater energy efficiency becomes increasingly important. Energy costs are escalating around the world, and society is becoming increasingly aware of the environmental impacts of energy generation and consumption.

To address the need to balance ever-increasing performance gains while maximizing energy efficiency, Intel is delivering unprecedented innovations in processor architecture, silicon, platform technology and software. This is expected to translate into extraordinary computer experiences across all segments:
- Increased performance and improved multitasking enabling greater productivity
- Exciting new usage models and applications
- Greater power savings for enterprise computing
- Longer battery life for greater mobility
- Enabling quieter desktops for homes and offices
- Thrilling game performance
- New form factors for the home, office, data center, and on the go

9. What can we expect from Intel Philippines this 2008?
(RB): Centrino: The next update to Intel Centrino processor technology, codenamed “Montevina”, will launch in ’08 and featuring “Penryn” mobile processor as well as the next-generation chipset with DDR3 memory support. It will also feature integrated HD-DVD/Blu-ray support for consumers and next generation data manageability and security features for business users. With approximately 40 percent smaller components, “Montevina” will be ideal for the wide spectrum of notebook designs from sub- to full-sized notebooks.

Atom Launch to Drive Low-cost Computing: The Intel Atom processor is built on our groundbreaking hafnium-based 45nm process technology. This CPU will be the heart of Intel’s basic notebook platform roadmap, which is comprised of purpose built components that specifically enable simple, affordable, Internet-centric usage models. Intel is committed to breaking the barriers of affordability for the so-called “next billion” market.

And we’re preparing for our future microarchitecture in H2 ’08: Intel is on track to deliver Nehalem – an entirely new architecture that leverages Intel’s Core Microarchitecture – in the second half of ’08. Nehalem will feature leading edge performance advantages, power efficiency and important new server features. Nehalem will scale from two to more than 16 threads and one to more than eight cores. These chips will also feature simultaneous multi-threading (similar to Intel Hyper-Threading Technology) and in some segments will be delivered with a graphics engine built into the processor. Nehalem-based products will be the first family of Intel processors to use the QuickPath system architecture, which will significantly improve overall system performance. The QuickPath system architecture will include integrated memory controller technology and improved communication links between system components.

Beyond Nehalem, Intel has produced the world’s first functional 32nm test chip and Intel’s 32nm process technology is on track to begin production in 2009.

10. In the eyes of Intel, what’s the future like for the computing world?
(RB): What we’re doing now is a good indication of what it would be like in the coming year. We now have a full offering for every segment in the market. We want to empower users to be more mobile, to be more productive and creative through our technologies.