The worldwide server market ended 2011 with mixed results, as worldwide server revenue declined 5.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011 and server shipments increased 4.5 percent, according to Gartner. For the year, worldwide server revenue grew 7.9 percent, and server shipments increased 7 percent, with IBM taking the revenue crown and HP leading in shipments.
The results for the quarter were centered around x86 server demand which increased in shipments by 5 percent and revenue by 2.6 percent for the fourth quarter of 2011. In 2011, the server market was fueled primarily by x86 servers which are the predominant platform used for large scale data center build outs, particularly in North America while emerging regions like Asia Pacific and Latin America also added to the growth for the year.
IBM was the market leader in the worldwide server market based on revenue. The company ended the year with $4.7 billion in revenue for Q4 2011 for a total share of 33.7 percent. IBM’s revenue was down 10.2 compared to the same quarter in 2010. IBM’s growth was fueled by its Power Systems product line.
Of the top five global vendors, Dell was the only vendor to experience a growth in worldwide server revenue with 7.3 percent growth in Q4 2011.
In server shipments, HP remained the worldwide leader for Q4 2011. HP accounted for 28.1 percent of global shipments in the period, despite a shipment decline of 8.1 percent.
Of the top five vendors in server shipments worldwide, Lenovo and Dell were the only vendors to post shipment increases. Lenovo’s shipments grew 51 percent, and Dell increased 11.2 percent compare to the fourth quarter of 2010.
Blade servers posted a revenue increase of 14.5 percent and a shipment increase of 4.2 percent for the year. HP was the 2011 leader in blade servers accounting for 44 percent of shipments, with IBM being in second place at 21 percent. Cisco grew to an 8 percent shipment share in the form factor to end the year in fourth place, just behind Dell who had 9.3 percent.
To read the original eWeek article, click here: IBM Topped Server Revenue in 2011, HP Led in Shipments: Gartner
