The deployment of ARM in the data center has been more words/vapor than reality for years. And if you try one of Scaleway’s baremetal ARM offerings, you realize that using Intel CPUs is similar to using an SSD. Once you use it, it’s difficult to use something far slower. I’m not holding my breath on ARM in the Server, and I think we will see ARM desktops become widespread much sooner than ARM servers.

All that being said, I really want ARM servers to happen. One because a lifetime of x86 monoculture makes me curious about other platforms, and two because like AMD when they’re pushing hard, it’ll drive Intel out of their slumber. Intel’s major advancements come when they’re at least challenged if not threatened. Otherwise they do the equivalent of the old +25Mhz SKUs.

Still if I could have one wish, and it had to be CPU related, I would prefer to see an open ISA like RISC-V delivered by multiple vendors competing become widespread.