“Intel Inside:” Intel’s Competitive Strategy through Capital Investment

Intel uses its investment capabilities to drive the company’s competitive edge. Most of its investment is focused on ensuring supply chain stability and to support the development of markets for products that use Intel technologies. It provides capital for business initiatives that support and complement Intel’s production and manufacturing activities. At the same time, it uses financing schemes and investment in joint marketing efforts to hone its competitive advantage and establish the company as one of the most popular brands in computing technologies. (Lane 2000, p. 2) Undoubtedly, the strategy works as majority of the most popular computer products in the market use Intel microprocessors (except for Apple, of course). Through joint marketing and co-branding, the company is able to take advantage of the immense popularity of the products that uses Intel-made microchips and microprocessors to popularize Intel as a brand. This is evident in how most products that use Intel bear the logo “Intel Inside,” which has become an effective marketing campaign to consumers of digital products.

Aside from ensuring that Intel’s suppliers remain in business, Intel’s investment activities also serve to advance Intel’s strategic business interests. For instance, its interest in diversifying its investments to include the expansion and support of internet infrastructure and other information and communication technologies guarantees that Intel sales are boosted by the increase in activities that create a continued demand for digital products. Clearly, investing in the internet has a huge advantage for technology-based companies such as Intel: it ensures that the internet continues to be viable as a marketplace, and it increases consumer awareness and demand for new digital products, especially in the telecommunications industry.” Hence, Intel’s strategically placed investments in other companies creates opportunities for the company to extend its research and development activities as well as enter into networks that strengthens Intel’s position as a microprocessor brand in the market.  (Lane 2000, p. 10)

Work Cited:

Lane, D. (2000). Intel capital: the Berkeley Networks investment. Harvard Business School.