AMD Executive Perspectives: There Is No Silver Bullet to Digital Inclusion
12/1/2005

William T. Edwards

Conquering the digital divide requires partnerships and cooperation

By William T. Edwards, Ph.D., Senior Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer at AMD

We are proud to introduce a new feature to our readers in this issue of 50x15 Connections. In September, AMD Sr. Vice President William "Billy" Edwards was named the company's chief innovation officer, a role that includes executive oversight of 50x15. Billy has an entrepreneurial background that is critical to the success of 50x15. In this and future issues of 50x15 Connections, Billy will discuss his opinions, observations and analyses of issues relevant to the world of digital inclusion. Welcome aboard Billy!

Austin, TX — Much is said of the potential for technology to enhance quality of life worldwide by bridging the digital divide, but it's important to remember that this potential can only be realized through an organized and determined global effort led by industry and governments in partnership.

For our part, the technology industry has a responsibility to expand its focus beyond just creating smaller and faster computing applications and devices — we must foster sustainability. We must focus on developing and delivering useful, intuitive and culturally-relevant solutions to empower more of the world's population.

We at AMD, along with industry partners, believe that deploying knowledge-based technology tools can help create individual opportunities as well as drive the formation of a business ecosystem to provide the foundation for sustainable growth. This is only possible through cooperation and open dialog between the public and private sectors, and by harnessing our collective efforts.

Among our most visible global efforts is the 50x15 initiative. This initiative addresses the social and economic inequity that stems from the fact that less than 15 percent of the world's six billion people currently have access to the Internet and the economy it is helping to drive. 50x15 is about more than technology and will require investments in more than just technology to become a reality.

AMD recognizes that the actual computing device is only one small part of the complex value chain that must be secured to ensure successful, sustainable technology deployments. Sustainable technology deployments require a complete ecosystem of providers working together to deliver localized content, service and support for the devices and networks. Recognizing the need for individual opportunity in tandem with the potential for mass empowerment through technology can be a major incentive for all involved to work together for the greater good.

It is in this economic ecosystem where some of the most important development opportunities and rewards exist today.

AMD and its partners have already taken steps to empower economic ecosystems in high-growth markets with technology specifically designed to connect people throughout the world to the Internet simply, affordably and reliably. The first solution in this innovative category is the Personal Internet Communicator — or PIC — a new class of affordable technology. There is no other product like it in the world today.

The PIC has been specially designed to address the evolving requirements and needs of first-time technology users. Device software is tailored to each market and features a complete suite of applications including Internet Explorer, e-mail, instant messaging, web content viewers, spreadsheet application and a word processor, which provide the user with full creation and productivity capabilities both on and offline. During its first year of inception, the PIC has proven itself to be a truly empowering device that is benefiting people from Africa to Brazil and it performed admirably in support of hurricane Katrina relief efforts. These are the types of technologies that, with the proper education and economic support, carry the potential to help a growing economy begin to narrow the digital divide.

The final point I want to emphasize about the technology ecosystem is the need to build strong government relations and the importance of sound public policy on the local and national levels. Virtually any endeavor to bring IT to a rural community demands a certain level of government support and involvement.

In today's economy, regardless of one's location on the planet, the reality is that sustainable business models drive sustainable technology and education. This is a main tenent as to why 50x15 is not based on charity. Rather, it is founded on the premise that bridging the digital divide is about empowerment and education. 50x15 exemplifies AMD's careful attention to its customers in designing and developing relevant technology solutions for our clients based on their unique needs. We believe that there cannot, and should not, be a "one-size-fits-all" technology solution. The opportunity for active consumers in burgeoning technology markets around the world to make choices — to determine what is best for them — is fundamental to the success of 50x15.

We in the technology sector must invest in research and development, in partnerships with our customers, to bring new products to market. Government should consider the same; no one company or one government can do it alone. There must be partnership and joint investment in order to deliver universal access to the digital building blocks of the global economy.