Dell extends server lead over HPE

Global server market sees downturn, but Dell continues to grow

Dell has extended its lead over Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) in the worldwide server market, bringing home 20 per cent of total revenue in Q1 this year, according to IDC.

Total sales in the market grew 4.4 per cent year on year to $19.8bn (£15.6bn), but shipments declined 5.1 per cent to just under 2.6 million units.

The market slowed following six consecutive quarters of double-digit growth.

IDC research manager Sebastian Lagana said: "Demand from both enterprise buyers and hyperscale companies purchasing through ODMs was less voracious than in previous quarters.

"Coupled with a difficult compare period from a year ago, this affected the pace of market growth during the first quarter.

"This was most evident in declining unit shipments during the quarter, although year-to-year average selling price (ASP) increases supported revenue growth for many vendors.

"As long as demand for richly configured servers supports further ASP growth, the market will offset slight declines in unit volume."

Despite the downturn, IDC said that "pockets of robust growth remain" in the market. It claimed that volume server revenue increased by 4.2 per cent to $16.7bn, with mid-range server sales climbing 30.2 per cent to $2.1bn.

The high-end systems market segment saw revenue plummet 24.7 per cent to $976m.

Dell continued to extend its lead at the top of charts, seeing its revenue climb 8.9 per cent to $3.7bn. Second-place HPE saw growth of 0.2 per cent.