by Cliff Saran
25 June 2009
The server market declined almost by a third in 2009, but IDC experts a small recovery in 2010, as businesses build blade server data infrastructures.
IT budgets in business have been slashed at major projects postponed as CIOs battle to cut costs.
The fall in demand for servers may have bottomed out, according to IDC.
The market analyst firm predicted that x86 server revenue would return to single digit growth by 1Q10, largely due to demand for blade servers and consolidated infrastructures.
“Increased consolidation, rationalisation needs, and budget constraints within companies will play a major role in shaping server demand,” said Giorgio Nebuloni, research analyst, European Systems and Infrastructure Solutions.
“On the other hand, non-x86 revenue, whose decline will remain in the double digits in 1Q10, will make a decisive comeback in the second half of 2010 due to pent-up demand for specific scale-up refreshment projects in the corporate space.”
Volume servers will experience a more gradual growth pattern, with revenue slowly picking up from $1.6 billion in 2Q09 to $1.7 billion in 3Q10, and returning to positive growth in 2Q10.
Midrange and high-end servers will not return to annual revenue increases until 1Q11, IDC said.
