Jun, 2001 : Compaq To Adopt Intel Technology For Servers

📅 June 25, 2001 - Compaq Computer Corporation said today it would begin using Intel-based Itanium chips in its servers and phase out its own Alpha chip series by 2004.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The announcement was part of a multi-year agreement between the two companies that will also see Compaq license its Alpha chip technology to Intel, giving the chip maker a valuable cache of intellectual property.
Compaq obtained the rights to Alpha chip technology when it purchased Digital Systems in 1998.
"The bottom line is we are creating great customer value," said Michael Capellas, Chairman and CEO of Compaq. "Our move to the Itanium architecture provides customers and independent software vendors with the most compelling roadmap to next-generation server technology."
The two companies said today in a joint release that several hundred Compaq engineers, compiler experts and infrastructure employees will be offered employment with Intel. Part of that team will remain with Compaq to complete work on a next-generation Alpha chip Compaq is still working on, but will transfer to Intel as they complete their remaining projects at Compaq.
"We are delighted that the market segment leader in enterprise servers is bringing its high-end systems expertise to the Itanium processor family," said Craig Barrett, President and CEO of Intel. "This agreement with Compaq furthers our shared vision of delivering customer value by advancing high-performance, high-volume building blocks. Our agreement will bring higher levels of performance, availability and scalability to systems based on the Itanium processor family."