Server Market Q3 2012 – Falls 6% To $13.9 Billion

Server Market Highlights Q3 2012

• In the year to September 2012 the total server market dropped 7% to $57.5 billion
• HP led the market with a 23.9% share worth $13.7 billion
• Large companies accounted for 53.4%, Medium for 13.9% and Small for 30.7% of server spending
• The x86 server market fell 4% to $42.2 billion
• HP led the sector with a 28.8% share ($12.2 billion)
• In Q3 2012 the total server market fell 6% to $13.9 billion
• The x86 server market dropped 4% to $10.4 billion

IBM Leads The $25.5 Billion Server Virtualisation Market

Server Virtualisation Highlights Q2 2012

• IBM leads the overall market with a 34.1% share of the $25.5 Billion market
• HP leads the x86 market with 28.9% of the $12.0 Billion market
• RISC/Other processor types supporting mainly mainframe and Unix operating systems account for 53% of all virtualised servers
• x86 now accounts for 47%

Dell Primes PartnerDirect Channels For Windows Server 2012 Upgrades

Dell, Microsoft Windows Server Highlights

• Readies its PartnerDirect channel for Microsoft’s new operating system
• The ending of support for Windows 2003 in July 2015 creates a call to action for customers
• Links its training and collateral to sales cycle phases
• Aims to help its channel move to higher-margin services
• Will include other software and hardware with the upgrade business
• Microsoft estimates that 80% of its servers run Windows 2003 today – 30 million by our estimates

ITCandor Monthly Digest (Xeon E5) – March 2012

We had another record number of reads of our site in March and were featured on the front page of IBM’s Smarter Computing Daily, as well as being mentioned in numerous Twitter feeds. Having suggested that we would do a number of other things we actually spent all of our time profiling Intel’s new Xeon chip – reviewing the new machines and strategies of 7 server vendors, as well as looking at the processor from Intel’s view. You should find this useful when making a choice between these machines and in understanding their market positioning. They have helped us to enhance our server tracker to include SGI, Supermicro and NEC for the first time.

Published Research

These are the research papers we published in the month:

• NEC Adds Xeon E5 To Its Express5800 Servers
• Fujitsu Adds Xeon E5 To Primergy Servers – Modularity, Remote Management And Dynamic
• Supermicro Launches A Slew Of Xeon E5 Servers
• Intel Xeon E5-2600 – Better Performance, Energy Efficiency And Bandwidth – Not Just Servers
• Cisco Adds Xeon E5 To Its Unified Computing Server Line
• Huawei Enterprise Launches Xeon E5 Tecal Servers
• IBM Adds Xeon E5 To System x With Warm-Water Cooling And Slotless 10GbE Networking
• Dell Puts Intel Xeon E5 In PowerEdge Servers – Focuses On Simplified Management

NEC Adds Xeon E5 To Its Express5800 Servers

NEC Express5800 Highlights

• Launches 1U and 2U rack-mounted servers
• Operate at temperatures up to 40°C, reducing expenditure on cooling
• Power capping on DIMMs saves energy costs
• Like other Xeon E5 offerings offers memory sizes up to 768GB
• Expressscope Engine 3 management software adds remote control functions and preserves system information during module replacement
• ProgrammableFlow software allows a software-defined network architecture

Fujitsu Adds Xeon E5 To Primergy Servers – Modularity, Remote Management And Dynamic Infrastructures

Fujitsu Primergy Highlights

• Introduces 7 new servers in a variety of form factors for its CX, BX, RX and TX server families
• Includes universal I/O and RAS memory features
• Has common power supplies for RX and TX systems
• Has updated ServerView and VIOM systems management and server deployment suites
• Focuses on channel-friendly remote management and modularity
• Fits the new machines into its Dynamic Infrastructures model
• Should be particularly successful in Japan and Asia Pacific

Supermicro Launches A Slew Of Xeon E5 Servers

Supermicro X9 Highlights

• Launches at least 30 motherboards and 35 distinct systems with a wide variety of configurations – the largest selection of the suppliers we’ve reviewed to date
• Claims to be in 4^th position in the x86 server market
• Sells more through distribution than OEM channels
• Is used by software suppliers to build appliances
• Is well-known in HPC markets
• Application optimized solutions for Data Center, Enterprise IT, Cloud and Embedded Computing
• Has grown revenues from $137 million to $943 million in the years between 2003 and 2011

Intel Xeon E5-2600 – Better Performance, Energy Efficiency And Bandwidth – Not Just Servers

Xeon E5-2600 Highlights

• Launches 2-socket E5-2600, previously code-named Sandy Bridge EP, along with the C600 chip set
• Also announces the 1-socket E5-1600
• Makes significant performance gains through introducing I/O enhancements
• Continues to embed AES-NI and TXT security functions
• The new products have been endorsed by all server vendors and many storage and networking companies
• It should help to reverse the slight declines in x86 server business in recent quarters

Huawei Enterprise Launches Xeon E5 Tecal Servers

Huawei Tecal Server Highlights

• Launches 6 new Xeon E5 servers in blade, node and rack-mounted form factors
• Targets hardware and software acceleration solutions
• Focuses on performance and power efficiency
• Is on of 5 OEM vendors for Xeon E5 in server, storage and networking categories
• Better known for networking, is pushing its credentials as a server vendors and will push for European and American business

IBM Adds Xeon E5 To System x With Warm-Water Cooling And Slotless 10GbE Networking

IBM System x Highlights

• Launches 5 new machines
• Adds advanced ‘Virtual Fabric’ 10GbE networking in the BladeCenter HS23
• Adds warm-water cooling to its iDataPlex HPC offerings
• Provides a large memory footprint for 2S systems
• Researched pain points with 3k CIOs in 2011
• Has valid customer references at launch
• Has benchmarked the x3650 ahead of launch
• Should retain its leadership advantages for advanced virtualisation
• Offers extra discounts for partners selling IBM hardware and software together