Should Give SUNW A Kick: New Report Out - Sun Is #1 with 62% Market Share
Again in UNIX Workstation Market as Competition Falls Further Behind
Sun's 62 Percent Market Share Is More Than Double HP and IBM's Shares Combined
PALO ALTO, Calif., Dec. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW)
announced today that it is once again #1 in units shipped and revenue generated for the
worldwide UNIX(R) workstation market, according to estimates released by IDC(1). With a
commanding 62 percent share of the market for Q3CY'00, Sun continued its long-standing
leadership of the technical desktop space and further distanced itself from its competitors.
According to IDC, Sun shipped 86,700 workstations during Q3, more than all other vendors
combined. Additionally, Sun was the only vendor to achieve a year-over-year increase in
shipments during the quarter, while HP, IBM and SGI all experienced declines of seven, six
and 32 percent respectively.
"Sun Microsystems has led the UNIX workstation market in revenue terms for 13 consecutive
years," said Kara Yokley, workstation research analyst, IDC. "It was the only vendor to show
year-over-year unit growth in Q3. Sun has maintained its unit and revenue lead in this market
by delivering consistently solid UNIX/RISC-based products at NT/Intel competitive prices."
Driving Sun's success is its popularity across the board within technical computing. As a
result, Sun was #1 in 10 of the 17 application segments that make up technical computing
according to IDC(2). Segments in which Sun was #1 include MCAD, software engineering,
EDA, MCAE, management and support, financial, industrial process analysis, scientific
research, measurement and control, and database management.
In all, the report shows Sun in the #1 or #2 position in 14 of the 17 application segments.
"As the original UNIX workstation vendor, Sun continues to shine in this market because we
focus on what our customers need: power-graphics, high performance and scalability from
the low end to super computers," says Shahin Khan, Vice President of Product Marketing in
Sun's System Products Group. "Our extensive line of workstations was further expanded in
Q3 with the announcement of the Sun Blade(TM) 1000 workstation. This new high
performance workstation, featuring our powerful UltraSPARC(TM) III microprocessor and
robust Solaris(TM) Operating Environment, will help our customers continue to capitalize on
the incredible opportunities of the Net Effect."
Sun also recently announced its new distributed resource management tool, Sun(TM) Grid
Engine software. A free download from www.sun.com, the software is also pre-loaded with all
Sun workstations making them "virtual compute farms," an important addition for users in
compute-intensive markets like software development, MCAD and digital media rendering.
To further support its hardware offerings and help customers better address the explosive
development of the Internet, Sun also offers its suite of Forte developer tools, providing users
with a comprehensive, integrated, end-to-end solution for dot-comming their businesses.
The latest news and information about Sun's entire line of workstation products can be found
on the World Wide Web at sun.com .
About Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision -- "The Network Is The Computer(TM)" -- has
propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc. to its position as a leading provider of industrial-strength
hardware, software and services that power the Internet and allow companies worldwide to
dot-com their businesses. With $17.6 billion in annual revenues, Sun can be found in more
than 170 countries and on the World Wide Web at sun.com .
NOTE: Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun Logo, Solaris, Sun Blade and "The Network Is The
Computer" are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United
States and other countries. UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other
countries, exclusively licensed through X/Open Company, Ltd. All SPARC trademarks are
used under license and are trademarks or registered trademarks of SPARC International,
Inc. in the United States and in other countries. Products bearing SPARC trademarks are
based upon an architecture developed by Sun Microsystems, Inc.
1. IDC, The Workstation Market, 2000, Q3 Update
2. IDC, 1999 Primary Applications for Workstations, October 2000
3. IDC, Worldwide Workstation Census, Forecast and Analysis, 1999-2004
CONTACT: Frank E. Smith of Sun Microsystems, Inc., 650-786-7215, or |
