HP snatches server market share lead from IBM

HP has become the best selling brand when it comes to servers, knocking IBM off the top spot.

Over the last year, the company gained 2.7 per cent of market share, according to the latest report from Gartner, leaving it with 31.5 per cent overall and $3.4 billion of revenue from its server products.

Conversely IBM managed to lose 2.1 per cent market share and fell to second place with 28.4 per cent and just over $3 billion of revenue.

The overall server market performed well, with worldwide shipments rising by 23 per cent in just the first quarter of 2010 coupled with a six per cent improvement on revenues.

That said, things are still not quite back to the dizzy heights once experienced by manufacturers.

"We've seen a return to growth on a worldwide level, but the market has not yet returned to the historical quarterly highs that were posted in 2008," said Jeffrey Hewitt, research vice president at Gartner, in a statement.

The European market had a slightly smaller than average growth in shipments of 19.7 per cent but managed to secure a 6.6 per cent growth in revenues.

Adrian O'Connell, principal research analyst at Gartner, suggested that the market didn't have as far to climb as other areas in the first place.

"Although the EMEA server market is returning to growth in shipment and revenue terms, we need to recognise that this is growth from a low base, as the first quarter of 2009 saw a decline of 27.1 percent in shipments and a decline of 34.2 percent in revenue year over year," he said in a statement.

"Nevertheless, current market levels remain below those seen at the start of 2008, indicating that there is opportunity for stronger penetration in the EMEA server market."