Startups such as SeaMicro have been attracting a lot of the low-power chip attention lately. Despite making the chips that SeaMicro use, chip behemoth Intel has been a lot less visible. That changed yesterday, as the company ramped up its corporate messaging around what they are calling a new category of “micro server,” and roped in Facebook’s Gio Coglitore to help tell the story. Power efficiency and space utilization remain of concern in the data center, and it is these areas that smaller and more efficient servers address. However, the chips’ reduced computing capabilities do not always fit well within existing software environments, and there have been suggestions that quite dramatic shifts in practise are required before the real benefits are realized. For now, Intel is being conservative; with the Wall Street Journal quoting Intel’s General Manager for Data Center Group Marketing as saying “We see the opportunity for micro servers approaching 10% of the overall server market.”