Worldwide Server Shipments Jump 27 Percent, Revenue Up 14 Percent in Q2 2010

September 2, 2010

Global server shipments grew 27 percent to 2.1 million units and revenue jumped 14 percent to $11 billion in the second quarter of 2010 compared to the same period a year ago, according to researcher Gartner Inc.

The researcher said that shipments of x86 servers for the quarter climbed by 28.9 percent and revenue by 37 percent year-over-year.

However, Unix server shipments for Q2 2010 fell by 16.5 percent and revenues dipped by 8.8 percent compared to last year, Gartner said.

“As in the first quarter, the second quarter again demonstrated strong year-on-year growth,” said Jeffrey Hewitt, Gartner research vice president.

On a sequential basis, both server unit shipments and revenue recorded totals similar to those posted in the first quarter 2010.

In May, Gartner said that server vendors shipped more 2.1 million units worldwide in Q1 2010, a 23 percent jump over the 1.7 million units shipped during the same period last year, along with a corresponding six percent uptick in revenue to about $10.7 billion.

Among server vendors, Hewlett-Packard Co. shipped some 640,000 units worldwide during the quarter, a 23 percent jump over the prior year’s 522,400 units, for a 30 percent share of the market.

Dell Inc. held second place with 542,800 servers shipped for the second quarter, a 35 percent increase over the 402,200 units it shipped for the same period a year earlier, and a 25 percent share of the market.

IBM Corp. took the third spot with 267,600 servers shipped for the quarter, an 18 percent spike over the 226,570 units it shipped during the similar quarter last year, and a 12.5 percent share of the market.

HP, IBM lead in server revenue worldwide

On a global revenue basis, server vendors Dell, Fujitsu and HP all posted revenue increases for the second quarter of 2010.

HP posted $3.5 billion in server revenue for the second quarter 2010, a 27 percent increase over the $2.8 billion it recorded during the same period last year, for a 32 percent leadership share of the market.

IBM sold $3 billion worth of servers in the quarter, a 2.7 percent decline from the $3.1 billion it posted for the second quarter last year, mostly attributable to a significant downturn in sales of Unix-based servers. The vendor holds a 28 percent share of the server market on a revenue basis.

From the regional standpoint, Eastern Europe grew the most significantly in server shipments, with a 47 percent increase in the second quarter of 2010, as well as the highest vendor revenue growth, at 26 percent for the period.

“The EMEA server market’s recovery continues with typical seasonal patterns being seen with the second consecutive quarter of positive shipment and revenue growth rates,” said Adrian O’Connell, Gartner research director.

“While the market has recorded strong growth, we need to recognize that this is growth from a low base, and the market remains significantly below the pre-downturn levels of 2008,” O’Connell said.

“Growth is being driven by the pent-up demand for replacements but ongoing economic concerns continue to limit overall levels of investment,” he said.