Internet Server Market To Grow 114% In 1998

As more users purchase full-featured Internet servers, rather than upgrade current systems with Internet software, the worldwide Internet server market will reach $13.27 billion in 1998, according to the 1997 Internet Server Market Share and Forecast report from Dataquest Inc., San Jose. The market experienced explosive growth in 1997 as the worldwide Internet server market grew 276% with revenue reaching $6.21 billion. Sun Microsystems led the market, with 22.3% of the market, followed by Hewlett-Packard with 19.6% market share. "While the Internet server market was dominated by a relatively small number of vendors, it's important to remember that it is still in its infancy and has the kind of dynamic qualities that promise not just change, but very quick change," says Dataquest's Kimball Brown, vice president and chief analyst, intranet and Web servers worldwide program. "As a result, significant opportunities exist for vendors that do not currently reside in the upper reaches of the revenue and shipment picture." The midrange Internet server market accounted for more than 63% of the worldwide Internet server market in 1997, with revenue reaching $3.97 billion. The entry-level Internet server market followed with revenue at $1.60 billion in 1997. Midrange Internet servers should continue to dominate the market through 2002, according to Dataquest. "Midrange systems are often found in such applications as Internet database serving, Internet compute serving, and high-end Internet file serving, where they handle huge numbers of HTML pages for Internet service providers (ISPs) or function in technical/engineering environments," said Brown. "The superior availability and scalability of these systems over entry-level servers are essential in environments in which the ISPs' entire business rests on the availability of its services." The 1997 Internet Server Market Share and Forecast report includes a five-year forecast for the Internet server market, and discusses developments in systems hardware features and performance, with emphasis on key vendors.