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Server sales tick up, more to come
Server revenues climbed 2.5 percent in the past year according to IDC’s quarterly worldwide server tracker. In the second quarter of 2014 sales totalled US$12.6 billion. Unit shipments grew 1.2 percent to 2.2 million.
The standout segment was mid-range systems which saw 11.5 percent growth. IDC puts the surge down to technology refresh cycles. Volume systems climbed 4.9 percent. Meanwhile high-end enterprise systems dropped almost 10 percent.
HP moved into top slot with a 25.4 percent market share for the quarter. This time last year IBM was the leader, but with year on year sales revenue down more than 10 percent the company is now in second place with a 23.6 percent market share. The company's share will fall faster thanks to Lenovo buying part of IBM’s server business.
Dell, Oracle and Cisco are runners-up. Cisco’s revenue jumped by over 35 percent putting it in joint fourth place with Oracle. IDC lists the little-known companies making cloud servers as ODM Direct. They collectively scored a 6.6 percent market share.
IDC says the market is going through a refresh cycle with servers being replace. The analyst company expects this to continue for the next year or so with Microsoft’s decision to end Windows Server 2003 support likely to further stimulate sales. Also on the horizon is Intel’s Grantley Xeon technology.
Bill Bennett
Freelance journalist.
Auckland-based Bill Bennett writes technology and business stories that are directly relevant to New Zealand readers.
His emphasis is on telecommunications, but he also covers other aspects of technology and business. You can find his features in the New Zealand Herald and hear him regularly on RNZ Nine to Noon and the NZ Tech Podcast.
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