Also, in light of continued disagreement around here on whether or not some recent Intel decisions are due in part to pressure / fear of ARM and AMD server competition (with the "sensible" answer being they're too big to care), some analysts are beginning to suspect the believed invincibility of Big Blue's highest margin business is more vulnerable than thought.

I for one agree that sure, you can chalk up some decisions like moving Cannonlake up 5 or so months etc. to unrelated events but you have to admit at some point that both they're actions and plans as well as the very real possibility of losing market share is playing a part. Remember, as much friction with moving to ARM (psychological or technical) or bad reputation for AMD exists, business small and large are going to make decisions eventually on what makes dollars and sense. And from what we can see from the Zeppelin cores with Ryzen, there won't be a lot standing in AMDs way to win over that portion of the market that will prioritize the cost/performance over whatever effort or sacrifices are involved with compatibility and ecosystem changes.

This should be seen by clients or businesses as a purely positive development that's finally lighting a fire under one of the most comfortable and entrenched businesses in technology. And no doubt the big players are keeping an eye on all developments as Intel will without question be working harder than ever to keep them squarely in their camp.

Whether or not they can fight off the opposition without losing too many precious percentage points either in market share or margin, only time will tell.