UP laptop deal: The 'big' gainers

The apparent sight tells that winner in the UP deal is HP India whose reputation will jumpstart in the market if the order is accomplished well in the stipulated time. In addition, the marketshare will land in its kitty of a significant portion. But the two major beneficiaries of the deal are Microsoft and AMD that power the HP Pavilion G4-10064AU notebooks being distributed in UP.

For Microsoft and AMD, there will be 1.5 million new customers at the end of the delivery by HP to the state government. What makes it significant for both these vendors is the age of the users. 1.5 million young users get to work on devices powered by AMD processors and Windows operating system. In the short term, it might not be a business sense for Microsoft because of the tight margins. But the brand suddenly sits in the minds of the large population.

However, more than Microsoft and even HP, it is AMD which has gained from the deal. For years, we have seen Intel ruling the market, driving the user trends through their chips. And AMD was always on the fringes of the processor market. Even till last year, Intel was ruling market with more than 90% marketshare defining trends with its multi-core processors. But of late, AMD has successfully risen up, gained OEM interests and won marketshare. The UP and Tamil Nadu deals have propelled its prospects even in times tardy. While in TN deal, it was present inside only 35% PCs, in UP it will be present 100% PCs.

AMD also fends off fears that PC would be dead. It rather bets big on the different formfactors which will stay. In recent IDC numbers, AMD has garnered as much as 20% chip market. It is a slap on the face of Intel which is struggling to enter the smartphone and tablet space.

In essence, the UP deal is much more than just HP. It is equally about Microsoft and AMD.