Multi-core processors shake up IT industry

The development of multi-core processors, which can place many general purpose or specialised processors on a single silicon dye, is one of the most significant IT industry developments of the past 40 years, according to IDC.

The analyst firm said today that it believes the impact of multi-core on the IT infrastructure will accelerate with each generation of multi-core processors. This is expected to cause a "significant market shift" within the next four to five years.

Established players in microprocessors, operating platforms, systems management, security, application development tools, network management and services delivery must accept, if not embrace, this market shift, IDC advised.

"Multi-core processing will provide the flexibility, agility and efficiency of future dynamic IT environments," said Matt Eastwood, vice president of IDC's server research.

"Users expect significant price/performance improvements from these systems and anticipate that multi-core will further accelerate the adoption of server virtualisation technologies.

"Technology suppliers that prepare for this transition appropriately will be rewarded with increased revenue opportunities over the next few years."

The newly published IDC study predicts that this year will mark a watershed for multi-core processing.

Although IBM, HP and Sun have been shipping dual-core Risc processors for some time, AMD, Azul Systems and Intel are also laying important groundwork for the rest of the industry, IDC noted.

The study expects that the blade server market will serve as a launch pad for multi-core processing.

IDC does not believe that software licensing will be an issue for the early adopters because the software vendors have largely confirmed ongoing licensing policies.