Australia adds to
record server sale revenues
13:41 Thursday 2 March 2000
By BARRY PARK
AUSTRALIA'S double-digit growth in server sales
has helped drive the Asia-Pacific region to record
revenues in 1999, an IDC study revealed today.
IDC said Australia made up one of the top five
markets for servers in the Asia-Pacific region, with
Unix-based high-end servers deployed in Internet and
business intelligence environments earning the most
dividends from expanding sales.
The Asia-Pacific server market - which excludes
Japan - surged past the US$4 billion mark for the first
time in 1999.
IDC said server revenues increased 36 per cent in
1999 to reach US$4.67 billion, compared to the
previous record of US$3.9 billion in 1997.
It said market expansion was fuelled by "sustained
economic recovery across the region, increased
spending on Internet-related applications, and
Y2K-driven spending that continued well into the
fourth quarter".
PC servers and smaller entry level servers provided
the greatest accelerators in 1999, with annual growth
rates of 68 per cent and 34 per cent, respectively.
High-end servers priced at more than US$1 million
grew marginally with a 3 per cent annual revenue
increase, held back by a Y2K-related slowdown, IDC
said.
Companies selling servers in the Asia-Pacific region
lost more market space to the big five during 1999,
with IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Compaq, Sun
Microsystems and Dell now holding 83 per cent of the
market, up from 80 per cent in 1998.
IBM's RS/6000 and PC server sales helped the
company retain the number one position in the region
despite a sharp Y2K-related downturn in demand for
its proprietary platforms.
The number two-placed Hewlett-Packard was helped
by a 99 per cent growth in its high-end server division,
and 59 per cent growth in the PC server arena, to
increase its market share by by 36 per cent.
Compaq's server business grew faster than the
overall market on the back of strong demand for
high-performance Tandem servers and an improved
focus on its Alpha servers.
Compaq's third ranking is being challenged by Sun,
which grew rapidly during 1999 on its its aggressive
marketing and strong mindshare in the Internet space.
Dell entered the top five list for the first time this year,
posting a 200 per cent increase in revenues
compared to 1998, mainly based on its growth in the
Australian and Chinese markets.
New Zealand was the only market in the region to fall
short of double digit growth, IDC said.
The company said despite a Y2K-related slowdown
in the second half of 1999, server revenues grew 16
per cent in Australia in 1999 over 1998. |
