HP Hangs on to Lead in Worldwide Server Shipments
Worldwide server shipments totaled 1.2 million units in the first quarter of 2003, a 10.4 percent increase from the same period last year, according to preliminary statistics from Gartner Inc.
"The worldwide server market performed better than expected in the first quarter of 2003, but the threat of a lingering war with Iraq, combined with a weak economy, still had an effect on IT spending during the quarter," said Shahin Naftchi, principal analyst covering servers for Gartner's servers worldwide group. "As a result, the life cycle for existing large systems was extended and corporate buyers delayed purchases of high-end equipment, preferring the quick returns from short-term investments instead."
Hewlett-Packard retained the top spot in the worldwide rankings with 29.1 percent of server shipments. Dell Computer remained in the No. 2 spot with 20.2 percent of the market, followed by IBM with market share of 14.8 percent. Sun Microsystems was the only top-tier vendor to experience a decline in worldwide server shipments in the first quarter of 2003. The top three vendors continued to dominate the market and accounted for more than half of all units shipped during the quarter.
The U.S. server market experienced an increase of 13.2 percent in the first quarter of 2003, with shipments of 499,609 units, up from 441,540 units in the first quarter of 2002. This is the fifth consecutive quarter in which the United States posted a year-over-year growth rate greater than 10 percent. Dell moved into the No. 1 spot in the U.S. server market with 27 percent of the market. HP was in second place with 25.3 percent, followed by IBM, Sun and Gateway.
"Dell led the top-tier U.S. vendors in shipment growth with an increase of 24 percent compared to the same quarter a year ago, and that is in part due to the strengths of its partnerships, ranging from database offerings with Oracle to its storage solutions with EMC," said Jeffrey Hewitt, principal analyst for Gartner's servers worldwide group. "HP's performance in the first quarter of 2003 could have been impacted in part by server seasonality, which is normally weaker in the first quarter of the year following a strong fourth quarter." |
