IBM servers nip at Compaq share

Figures reveal the IBM PC Company is inching its way up the servermarket

The IBM PC Company pre-announced a high-end Pentium Pro server, due out in September, as it claimed that the latest market figures from IDC and Dataquest showed it edging towards Compaq's market share.

Mike Lunch, MD of the PC Company in the UK, said: 'There was a lot of noise generated by (Compaq CEO) Eckhard Pfeiffer when he said his company would be number one. You don't hear so much from him now that market share is falling.'

Dataquest figures, said Lunch, showed that IBM had grown its share of the commercial desktop market in Europe to 10.5 per cent this year from 8.2 per cent last year. Compaq's share stayed at 12.7 per cent.

Companies that lost market share include AST, Dell, Digital and Siemens Nixdorf.

Lunch said worldwide growth for Compaq had slowed down. 'IBM had 34 per cent growth in Q2, while Compaq's was 17 per cent in the same period.'

Although most European countries are suffering from depressed economies, he said IBM is doing well in the UK.

But one problem within the market was that corporate users of equipment were reluctant to buy into a fast-moving technology stream. 'There's a serious issue of a complete mismatch between IT providers and customers that actually don't want the pace of innovation.

'We (IBM) are in some ways like jam in a sandwich. Customers don't want this forced down their throats.'

The Pro machine, codenamed Crossfire, includes a 200MHz chip, integrated CD-Rom, Wake on Lan and universal serial bus technology.