Asia Pacific server market buoyant
Asia Pacific server market buoyant
Server vendors in Asia/Pacific are experiencing a fine year so far, according to analyst group Gartner.
Server revenue in the region for the first quarter of 2003 totalled $1.12 billion, an increase of 7 per cent on the same period last year.
Though acknowledging the figures as an encouraging sign for the Asia/Pacific server market, Gartner analysts were also quick to point out that the growth quarter was preceded by a few quarters of declining revenue, a fact that prompted them to say they still had concerns for future growth. The full impact of SARS on the market has also yet to emerge.
"A number of key markets, including Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and China face challenging business conditions in the second quarter of 2003, thus we should expect that the second quarter could negate much of the first quarter gains," said Matthew Boon, vice president of Gartner's hardware and systems research division. "Many large organisations, particularly in the tourism, hospitality and services industries, are looking closely at delaying capital expenditure programs."
The Australian market enjoyed even greater growth than the region as a whole, with revenue up 10 per cent on the same quarter a year ago. This placed Australia third in the table of revenue generating countries in the region, behind leaders China and South Korea.
"Australia has remained fairly resilient to major declines as the global IT sector has decreased in the last couple of years, largely due to a very strong presence and focus by all the major vendors," added Boon. "This continued in the first quarter of 2003, led by a strong growth from HP, while Sun also, albeit at a lesser rate."
The positioning of the top three server vendors in the region remained the same, with IBM topping the list with 37.3 per cent of the market, followed by HP on 30.52 per cent, and Sun on 14.56 per cent.
Dell cemented its standing at fourth place and significantly increased its market share, capturing 4.73 per cent of the market, up from 3.3 per cent in Q1, 2002.
"Dell's investment in the China market in terms of resources and commitment continues to bear fruit, and the Dell model has struck a chord in the Chinese marketplace," said Boon.
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