Microsoft and Qualcomm Collaborate On Bringing ARM To Data Servers and The Cloud Posing A Threat to Intel’s Dominance

In a statement, Microsoft has begun testing ARM processors, commonly used for running mobile devices and smartphones for being power-efficient. ARM Chipmaker Qualcomm and Microsoft have collaborated and made a Windows Server powered by Qualcomm Centriq 2400.

Previously, Microsoft and Qualcomm got together to make a Windows 10 PC based the latter's ARM Chip. Both companies have come together once more and are apparently working to bring Windows Server OS to ARM, according to PC World.

The collaboration is aimed at accelerating next-gen cloud services, employing Qualcomm's 10-nanometer 48-core Centriq 2400 platform. Microsoft's server was shown at the Open Compute Summit (OPS) held in Santa Clara, California. However, the ARM-based Windows Server hardware is for Microsoft's internal use. The company did not share information when the Windows Server would be available for ARM servers.

By tradition, Windows Servers only run on systems with x86 chips from either Intel or AMD, same as in a PC. Since Microsoft warmed up to the idea of using ARM on laptops, its gravitation towards servers using ARM seems like a normal progression. Worth noting is that Windows 10 Internet-of-Things (IoT) Core and Windows 10 Mobile, work on ARM Chips.

This is a major step for Qualcomm who has been trying to break into the server market dominated by Intel who owns 99 percent of the server space. With Microsoft backing the chip giant and its fledgling ARM server efforts, it might change the server landscape soon. For now, the immediate goal is to get a Qualcomm-based server to power Microsoft's Azure cloud including other services.

Latest reports indicated that Microsoft has also collaborated with another chipmaker, Cavium for employing ARM-based data center chips. According to Forbes, Microsoft, Google and Amazon have toyed around with ARM servers in their own labs without any announcements, until now.

Not only will ARM-base servers be in direct competition with Intel and its X86 processors, but also using ARM chips could potentially enable a host of energy-efficient server farms. For Qualcomm, the collaboration is a validation of its server efforts.

Qualcomm's server specification is based on the most recent iteration of Microsoft's Project Olympus. Only time will tell if Qualcomm can pose a threat to Intel's dominance in the data center. However, it is highly likely that Qualcomm and Microsoft's collaboration will help propel the move to the next step.