Before diving into the major players that enable enterprise computing globally, it‘s important to understand what exactly servers do and why they represent the foundation underpinning the digital economy.
In simple terms, servers are specialized high-performance computers designed for the heavy-duty data processing that regular PCs can‘t handle. They store and manage applications, websites, databases and a host of other digital business workloads.
Thanks to their advanced components, CloudFlare reports that servers are often 1000 times more powerful than a person‘s laptop or desktop. This raw muscle provides the engine for everything from complex AI insights to real-time industrial IoT to the online games and media we enjoy.
Global tech research firm IDC size the worldwide server market at over $90 billion currently. And they project annual spending to exceed $120 billion by 2025, reflecting incredible demand growth as more workflows migrate to the cloud while AI, big data and other innovations create unprecedented processing loads.
Let‘s explore the 10 vendors delivering the server technology enabling this digital transformation, what their likely trajectories are, and how radical changes like AI chips, composable infrastructure, silicon photonics and even quantum computing aim to vastly expand data center capabilities moving forward.
The Server Tech Leaders: Offerings, Customers and Vision
| Company | Servers/Solutions | Target Segments | Key Customers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dell EMC | PowerEdge, VxRail | Cloud, HPC, analytics | Azure, Splunk, GSK |
| HPE | ProLiant, Apollo, Synergy | Enterprise IT, networking | NASA, Axis Bank, Telefonica |
| Inspur | Cloud, big data, AI | Cloud service providers | AWS, China Mobile, Philips |
| Lenovo | ThinkSystem, ThinkAgile | Software-defined infrastructure | Rakuten, Tencent, Univ. of Tokyo |
| IBM | Z-series mainframe, Power servers, Quantum systems | Mission-critical enterprise workloads | Boeing, Bundesbank, Mitsubishi UFJ |
| Huawei | FusionServer, FusionCube | Cloud data centers | China Telecom, Sinopec, State Grid Corporation of China |
| Super Micro | GPU servers, Twin servers | Media processing, data analytics | Fox Sports, Epic Games, National Energy Research Centre |
| Fujitsu | PRIMEQUEST, PRIMEHPC | High performance computing | Lufthansa Systems, Barcelona Supercomputing Centre |
| Sugon | CloudRack, Water Cooling Solution | Hyperscale data centers | Alibaba, Tencent, Huawei Cloud |
| H3C | Atlas Servers | Networking & storage infrastructure | Bank of China, State Grid, Shanghai Pudong Dev. Bank |
Sources: Company websites, industry reports
As visualized in the chart below, Dell Technologies slightly leads the global server market in terms of revenue, followed closely by HPE and China‘s Inspur. Many expect Huawei and Inspur to gain more ground as Chinese cloud infrastructure booms to serve over 1 billion domestic internet users.
Server Market Share 2021 by Vendor Revenue | Source: IT Candor Research
Now let‘s analyze what types of servers each manufactures and what their core strengths are in this industry.
Dell Technologies tops the list through its Dell PowerEdge series that powers many data centers globally…
HPE (Hewlett Packard Enterprise) delivers servers including ProLiant for on-premise computing, Synergy for composability, and Apollo systems for high performance computing like AI…
Inspur manufactures a range of enterprise servers tailored to different uses including cloud, AI and big data analytics. This reflects China‘s push for developing domestic technology giants that can compete on the global stage…
Lenovo now offers System x, ThinkSystem and ThinkAgile series catering to hyperconverged infrastructure, software-defined storage, high performance computing and other data center needs…
IBM still competes through its higher-margin mainframes and Power architecture servers running AIX and IBM i operating systems. Designed to handle mission-critical workloads and crunch vast amounts of data, IBM‘s Z and Power servers cater to major corporations and research institutions…
Huawei offers FusionServer solutions for cloud computing, big data and other enterprise applications. It aims to build an ecosystem around open architecture standards…
Super Micro exclusively manufactures servers and serverboards, unlike most others on this list that operate multiple tech businesses from PCs to cloud services…
Fujitsu plays a prominent role in its home country while also operating data centers and research facilities globally. It offers both general purpose PRIMERGY servers as well as PRIMEHPC supercomputers…
Sugon is another Chinese vendor making headway domestically and abroad by delivering cloud computing, data center and supercomputing solutions developed around open standards…
H3C creates networking and server technology for mid-sized to large enterprise clients. It benefits from the manufacturing efficiencies of its Chinese parent while tailoring products to compete internationally…
Visualizing Worldwide Server Revenue Growth
Servers represent a sizable and strategically important market for most of the vendors above given how foundational data center infrastructure is becoming. As depicted below, the Americas make up the largest geography currently from a server spending standpoint. But Asia Pacific countries led by China are investing aggressively in cloud data centers and domestic tech champions.
!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var a in e.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r<t.length;r++){if(t[r].contentWindow===e.source)t[r].style.height=e.data["datawrapper-height"][a]+"px"}}}))}();
Source: IDC
Industry analysts IDC project the worldwide server market growing at a brisk 5% CAGR to pass $120 billion in annual spending by 2025. Much of this growth aims to meet accelerating demand for cloud services, real-time data analytics powered by AI and next-gen digital experiences from the emerging Web3 economy spanning the consumer metaverse, enterprises leveraging digital twins and smart virtual assistants driving automation.
To fully capitalize on these opportunities and deliver the next stage of requisite data center performance, the world‘s leading server vendors continue pushing the boundaries around workload optimization and seamless scalability…
Source: IDC Semiannual Server Tracker
Latest Innovations Advance Server Performance…
Changing Data Center Architecture Paradigms…
Virtualization and Containerization…
Enterprise Technology Needs Drive Growth Trajectory…
Server technology shows no signs of maturing given constantly evolving modern demands around scale, efficiency and intelligence. Vendors today already talk about next-next generation roadmaps where composable infrastructure controlled by AI-driven software promises to make data centers operate more like phones downloading apps on demand.
And looking 5-10 years ahead, even more radical transformations take shape:
- Startups pioneer silicon photonics replacing electrical signals with light to achieve exponential speed gains combined with lower power draw
- Global giants like IBM and Google architect quantum computing engines with data processing superiority for niche but invaluable applications
- Cooling and energy constraints in large computing clusters spur innovations in immersive liquid cooling
- China‘s latest roadmap outlines plans for an exascale supercomputer by 2025, surpassing the FUTURE US system in both raw computing power and energy efficiency
- Logistical bottlenecks around shuttling data spur active R&D exploring in-memory computing concepts
The list goes on from both evolutionary and revolutionary fronts…
So while the established giants profiled dominate server supply today, the opportunities remain wide open for disruptive upstarts introducing breakthrough capabilities redefining what‘s possible at the heart of tomorrow‘s most demanding workloads.
Exciting times ahead in the server space powering innovations across the digital enterprise!
