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INDUSTRY NEWS


23 May 2008

Server demand 'continues to grow'


Global server shipments increased by 7.6 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2008, with revenue climbing by 4.3 per cent over the same period, according to Gartner.

The analyst noted that, despite fears of economic slowdown and a consolidation on IT spending, 2.3 million units were shipped for the quarter, with worldwide server revenue reaching $13.6 billion (£6.9 billion).

Jeffrey Hewitt, research vice president at Gartner, explained: "There were a number of dynamics that affected the market to produce an initial quarter of growth for 2008."

He added that shipments of x86 server replacements had been strong in the beginning three months of the year, as enterprises invested heavily in large web datacentres.

According to software developer VMware, organisations looking to limit their datacentre expenditure can implement virtualisation solutions in order to cut down the number of servers required for business operations.

Writing an article for Forbes magazine, Stephen Herrod, chief technology officer for VMware, recommended simple steps to achieve efficient server virtualisation, including consolidation of systems (running multiple virtual servers on one physical server) and automation of services.

© 2006 Adfero Ltd.

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