What’s in store for server sales this year?

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9066609&intsrc=news_ts_head

March 4, 2008 (IDG News Service) The global server market could be headed for a slowdown this year, market researcher IDC said, after one of the strongest years ever in 2007.

Server revenue in 2008 could be impacted as the market braces for an economic slowdown in 2008, IDC said.

“The impact of the economy on the IT infrastructure market will depend on the duration and severity of the downturn,” said Matt Eastwood, group vice president at IDC. The housing and mortgage crisis in the U.S. could have a ripple effect around the globe and therefore slow down consumer spending, Eastwood said.

There is always concern about the demand for servers whether we’re talking about servers or blades, x86 or another platform, this debate is set to continue particularly with the discussions on the state of the economy. Let’s step back for a second. Life goes on, my IT is still a core part of many businesses,  just because the share price fell 6% doesn’t mean I don’t still need to proceed with that much needed hardware refresh program, that virtualization or consolidation of the server estate. Let’s not forget that with a virtualization or consolidation project, I might need to spend thousands of dollars to upgrade the infrastructure, but if the return on investment is tangible, that I consolidate form 700 Proliants to 70 or 96 blades, the reduction in my hardware support contract, the energy requirements or even the data center space needed to host the server estate could be significantly reduced. Will we need to brace for a downturn in server sales? We’ll have to see, focus on the task at hand, making the technology an enabler to your business and investment, faith in the platform will follow.