Windows and Linux Servers Grow at Unix's Expense
Added 26th Aug 2010Demand for Windows and Linux servers is increasing at a rapid pace, at the expense of Unix servers and other non-x86 machines, according to IDC.
"Microsoft Windows server demand was positively impacted [in Q2 2010] by the accelerating x86 server market, as hardware revenue increased 6.7 percent and unit shipments increased 28.2 percent year over year," IDC says.
Windows-based servers raked in $5 billion (about Rs.22,500 crores) in quarterly revenue, representing 46.5 percent of worldwide server factory revenue.
But there was room for both Windows and its rival Linux to be declared winners in the second quarter.
Linux-based server revenue grew 30.1 percent to $1.8 billion (about Rs.8100 crores) year-over-year. "Linux servers now represent 16.8 percent of all server revenue, up 2.5 points over 2Q09," IDC says.
Overall, server sales posted their biggest jump since 2003, with an 11 percent increase in revenue and a 24 percent increase in server unit shipments.
The demand is mainly being driven by x86 systems. "IDC expects the recovery to extend to Unix and mainframe platforms in the second half of 2010," the research firm says. But in the second quarter, Unix server revenue declined 7.3 percent year-over-year "as customers waited for details about the IBM Power Systems servers."
The total market for non-x86 servers declined 16 percent to $3.9 billion (about Rs.75,550 crores) in quarterly revenue.
Among systems vendors, HP led the way with $3.5 billion (about Rs.15,750 crores) in revenue, followed by IBM with $3.2 billion (about Rs.14,400 crores) and Dell at $1.7 billion (about Rs.7650 crores) .
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