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Server sales continue to rise
Gartner: Hardware not hit by economic dip

By Colin Barker

Published: Tuesday 26 August 2008

While the continuing economic downturn might suggest that the market for computer hardware should likewise take a dip, the latest figures for server sales from analyst house Gartner suggest the market is still seeing growth.

Gartner's survey found that, in the second quarter, global sales of servers grew by 12.2 per cent year-on-year. Revenue was $13.8bn and 2.3 million units were shipped. All of the top five companies in the market - HP, Dell, IBM, Sun and Fujitsu Siemens - saw shipments grow over the previous quarter last year.

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Dell saw the biggest gain, with its shipments increasing by 24.2 per cent year-on-year. HP, by contrast, saw modest growth of 8.7 per cent and IBM saw shipments rise by just 4.7 per cent.

IBM continued to maintain its revenue lead, with $4.3bn in server revenue, giving the company a market share of 31.2 per cent.

In EMEA, the picture is similar, with Dell showing 22.1 per cent growth in server shipments in the second quarter. HP saw shipments grow by 14.9 per cent, outstripping those of IBM and Fujitsu Siemens.

"Dell again outpaced its nearest rivals, growing 22.1 per cent year-on-year," Gartner senior research analyst Errol Rasit told silicon.com sister site ZDNet.co.uk. "IBM and Fujitsu... each lost volume share in the second quarter of 2008, while Sun maintained its share position compared to last year, accounting for 4.2 per cent of the overall server market."

IBM has maintained its share in terms of revenue, thanks to "solid increases in both its System p and System z brands, which offset some revenue declines in its other brands", Gartner said.