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Cisco, Dell server share grows amid weak demand

Server sales have been whacked by a weak economy and consolidation moves. Cisco, however, is growing rapidly and Dell picked up market share.
Written by Larry Dignan, Contributor

Server revenue for the first quarter fell 7.7 percent compared to a year ago, but Cisco and Dell managed to grow market share at the expense of rivals, according to IDC.

Research firm IDC reported that global server revenue was $10.9 billion in the first quarter, down 7.7 percent from a year ago. Server revenue has fallen five of the last six quarters.

Unit shipments for servers fell 3.9 percent in the first quarter compared to a year ago. Server sales were hit across the board from high-end systems to midrange to the low end. IDC said that demand for new servers has been hurt by system consolidation and the economy. It's also worth noting that cloud computing could also be a drag on server demand.

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By vendor, HP was the stop server maker, but sales fell 14.8 percent in the first quarter. HP's high-end Proliant line has been struggling. IBM was No. 2 followed by Dell and a three way tie for No. 4 between Fujitsu, Oracle and Cisco. Of that latter three, Cisco is the only one growing at a rapid clip.

Linux servers now account for 23.1 percent of all server revenue, and sales were up 3.5 percent in the third quarter. Windows server revenue fell 4.2 percent in the first quarter compared to a year ago. Windows Server accounts for 52.2 percent of all revenue. Unix revenue fell 35.9 percent in the first quarter from a year ago. IBM's System z mainframe grew revenue 7 percent in the first quarter, said IDC.

 

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