Sun takes U.S. server market; IBM tops globally-IDC
(adds details, comments from companies, paragraphs 8-9,
13-14)
SAN FRANCISCO, March 14 (Reuters) - Sun Microsystems Inc.
<SUNW.O> has taken the top spot in the U.S. market for powerful
server computers from International Business Machines Corp.
<IBM.N>, which kept its title as the main server seller
worldwide, according to a widely watched International Data
Corp. (IDC) report released on Wednesday.
Benchmarker IDC's revenue-based rankings confirm those by
rival Gartner Dataquest and settle, for the moment, a bitter
and public dispute between two companies eager for bragging
rights in the high-profile market for the computers that link
networks.
IBM, the world's No. 1 computer maker, in the fourth
quarter took the lead in the midrange global market for boxes
running the dominant operating system, UNIX, according to IDC.
"Sun is now the No. 1 server vendor in the United States,"
Vernon Turner, IDC's vice president for worldwide servers, told
Reuters. "IBM is still by far the No. 1 server vendor
worldwide."
The relatively young market for servers running Linux, an
operating system developed collaboratively by software
engineers worldwide, also did well, generating $1.7 billion for
the server market last year, up 132 percent from 1999.
"We were surprised by the overall growth of the Linux
market," Turner said. "I think Microsoft will pay attention
now."
Microsoft Corp. <MSFT.O>, the world's No. 1 software
company, makes the Windows NT and Windows 2000 operating
systems that do especially well in the low end of the server
market, where Linux has gained strength.
NT server revenue for the year rose 31 percent to $13.9
billion, an IDC statement said, while UNIX sales rose 14
percent to $29 billion.
One of the biggest changes in positioning was in the fourth
quarter in the key UNIX market, where IBM shot to first from
third place in the hotly contested midrange for machines
costing $100,000-$1 million and took second place in UNIX
overall from Hewlett-Packard Co. <HWP.N>.
Sun maintained its lead in UNIX as a whole and in the high
and low ends of the category, but it dropped to third from
second in the midrange. Hewlett-Packard took second place from
IBM in the entry range.
The entire market for servers grew 7 percent to $60.2
billion in factory revenues last year, with fourth quarter
sales up 14 percent to $16.7 billion.
In the fourth quarter, IBM led the market with 27 percent
of revenues, followed by Compaq Computer Corp. <CPQ.N> at 16.34
percent; Sun Micro, 16.32; Hewlett-Packard, 14 percent; and
Dell Computer Corp. <DELL.O>, nearly 6 percent.
For the year, IBM led with 23 percent, followed by Sun with
17 percent, Compaq with 16.5 percent, Hewlett-Packard with 15
percent and Dell with 6 percent.
Reports from all companies were positive. Hewlett-Packard
trumpeted its lead for the year in UNIX mid-range sales and
second place in UNIX overall.
Sun said it was the fastest growing server vendor in the
industry for the year, with sales rising 42 percent, while IBM
said its worldwide server revenue of $13.6 billion beat Sun's
$10.3 billion, and it highlighted its strong fourth quarter for
UNIX.
((Peter Henderson, San Francisco Bureau 415 677-2578
peter.henderson@reuters.com))
REUTERS |
