John Kalvin is bullish that the new Intel 13th Gen Core desktop processors will create opportunities for its partner ecosystem. Kalvin, who became the company’s global channel chief two years ago, is optimistic about demand despite the heavy headwinds facing Intel.

This year’s economic downturn doesn’t bode well for PC makers in 2023. After missing forecast revenues for two consecutive quarters, CEO Pat Gelsinger announced a $10 billion cost reduction plan last month. According to Gartner, PC shipments declined nearly 20% during the third quarter of this year.

The current economic climate notwithstanding, Kalvin said Intel’s 13th Gen processor, code-named Raptor Lake, will fuel new high-end systems. Intel started shipping the first 13th Gen Core processors last month for desktop systems.

Available with up to 24 cores, Intel claims they offer up to 40% higher multi-threaded performance over the Gen line. Intel hasn’t launched the mobile versions of 13th Gen, but the company tends to preview its newest wares in January at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES).

Intel’s John Kalvin

In an interview with Channel Futures, Kalvin explained how Intel provides readiness to its broad partner ecosystem. Except for the top OEMs, Kalvin’s organization supports system builders, ISVs, global systems integrators, MSPs, solution providers and ODMs.

“We look after those broad scaling motions for all of those commercial partners,” he said. Kalvin, a 24-year company veteran, also shared how Intel is navigating the current downturn from a go-to-market perspective.

We broke down outtakes from that interview in the slideshow above.