Server Stats Show 3.1 Percent Growth for Third Quarter
Gartner Dataquest's worldwide server market stats for the third quarter of 2002 show a server market possibly on the slow road to recovery.
Gartner Dataquest’s worldwide server market stats for the third quarter of 2002 show a server market possibly on the slow road recovery.
According to the IT research and advisory firm, preliminary statistics reveal a worldwide server market that grew 3.1 percent in the third quarter of this year. Worldwide server shipments totaled 1.1 million, up from 1.07 million units in the third quarter of 2001.
However, despite this growth, Gartner Dataquest analysts said the relatively poor performance of the market for the same quarter last year, due primarily to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, must be taken into account when reading the data.
“The performance of the worldwide server market in the third quarter of 2002 should be interpreted with caution because of the issues that existed in the same quarter one year ago,” said Shahin Naftchi, senior analyst covering servers for Gartner Dataquest’s Computing Platform Worldwide program.
“The server market still looks cloudy with the possibility of war in the Middle East further aggravating economic uncertainty, and continued constraints on IT spending which make it hard to be optimistic about real recovery of the worldwide server market this year,” Naftchi added.
Gartner Dataquest also notes that while there is some indication that the server market in the United States is showing signs of recovery, it is too early to indicate whether this is a sustaining trend for other regions. At the same time, while Asia/Pacific is also showing growth, Western Europe and Japan are still suffering from negative economic pressure.
Positioning among the key players remained the consistent with last quarter. Hewlett-Packard held fast in the top spot in the worldwide rankings with 30 percent of the market. Dell remained in the No. 2 spot, but continued to take market share from its competitors, as its market share rose to 19.2 percent, up from 16.8 percent one year ago. A minuscule decline in market share for IBM and growth of 17.5 percent for Sun Microsystems had no impact on their respective positions.
| Preliminary Worldwide Server Unit Shipment Estimates for 3Q02 (Units) |
|||||
| Company | 3Q02 | 3Q01 | Growth (%) |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shipments | Market Share (%) |
Shipments | Market Share (%) |
||
| HP | 332,364 | 30.0 | 349,036 | 32.5 | -4.8 |
| Dell | 212,880 | 19.2 | 180,201 | 16.8 | 18.1 |
| IBM | 153,781 | 13.9 | 155,803 | 14.5 | -1.3 |
| Sun | 68,193 | 6.2 | 58,036 | 5.4 | 17.5 |
| NEC | 24,291 | 2.2 | 25,549 | 2.4 | -4.9 |
| Others | 314,823 | 28.5 | 304,111 | 28.3 | 3.5 |
| Total Market | 1,106,332 | 100.0 | 1,072,736 | 100.0 | 3.1 |
Note: The data for Hewlett-Packard and Compaq have been combined.
Source: Gartner Dataquest (October 2002)
The U.S. server market fared well once again, exhibiting positive year-on-year growth for third consecutive quarter. It continued to show signs of recovery with a 12.2 percent increase in the third quarter of 2002. Shipments totalled 488,858 units, up from 435,620 in the third quarter of 2001.
Among the leading vendors, Dell resumed the No.1 position in the U.S server market, garnering 26.3 percent of the market. HP fell to second place with 25.9 percent market share, followed by IBM, Sun Microsystems, and Apple (bumping out Gateway), respectively.
Jeffrey Hewitt, principal analyst for Gartner Dataquest’s Servers Worldwide program commented on the shuffling, “The dust has not settled yet for HP. The real results of the HP purchase of Compaq, when it comes to server sales, probably will not manifest themselves until early next year.”
“Dell continued its strategy for flexible product offerings based on standardized technology and stressed its ability to leverage R&D investments across the industry. The increased efficiency of its standardized component/direct sales model translates into better value for its customers and increased market share for the company,” Hewitt further noted.
| Preliminary U.S. Server Unit Shipment Estimates for 3Q02 (Units) |
|||||
| Company | 3Q02 | 3Q01 | Growth (%) |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shipments | Market Share (%) |
Shipments | Market Share (%) |
||
| HP | 126,526 | 25.9 | 127,183 | 29.2 | -0.5 |
| Dell | 128,426 | 26.3 | 101,330 | 23.3 | 26.7 |
| IBM | 57,251 | 11.7 | 49,205 | 11.3 | 16.4 |
| Sun | 33,967 | 6.9 | 30,088 | 6.9 | 12.9 |
| Apple | 5,700 | 1.2 | 1,525 | 0.4 | 273.8 |
| Others | 136,988 | 28.0 | 126,289 | 29.0 | 8.5 |
| Total | 488,858 | 100.0 | 435,620 | 100.0 | 12.2 |
Note: The data for Hewlett-Packard and Compaq have been combined.
Source: Gartner Dataquest (October 2002)
Gartner Dataquest emphasizes that these results are preliminary. Final statistics will be available shortly to clients of Gartner Dataquest’s Servers Quarterly Statistics program. More information about these programs can be obtained at +1 408 468 8000.
