Server sales in the Asia Pacific have turned a corner, according to Gartner research that shows 7 per cent growth for the region in the first quarter of 2003. However the growth may be short lived.
While the quarterly revenue of $1.12 billion had put Asia Pac back in the black after several consecutive quarters of declining server revenue, Gartner vice-president for hardware and systems research, Matthew Boon, warned that the impact of SARS remained a concern for future growth.
“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,” Boon said.
“Many large organisations, particularly in the tourism, hospitality and services industries are looking closely at delaying capital expenditure programs.”
The Australian market achieved growth of 10 per cent for the quarter, led by strong growth by HP and lesser growth by Sun, Boon said: “Australia has remained fairly resilient to major declines as the global IT sector has decreased in the past couple of years, largely due to a very strong presence and focus by all the major vendors.”
Across the region, IBM continued to lead the pack with 37.3 per cent market share, followed by HP with 30.52 per cent and Sun at 14.56 per cent.
Sun Microsystems was the only major vendor to lose ground, losing one per cent market share in the region. Gartner’s report attributed the loss to a “correction” of Sun’s stellar performance in the 2002 year.
China continued to dominate server revenue for Asia Pac, with 32 per cent market share. Dell managed to ride its burgeoning Chinese business to grow its market share 1.4 per cent.
“Dell’s investment in the China market in terms of resources and commitment continue to bear fruit, and the Dell model has struck a chord in the Chinese server marketplace,” Boon said.