March 5th, 2009
Parsing the hardware landscape: x86 servers, PCs and laptops
The hardware replacement cycle continues apace despite a global downturn, according to Forrester Research.
In our last installment of parsing Forrester’s emerging hardware trend reports on the state of enterprise and SMB hardware trends, we look at hardware developments.
The big themes:
- Dell is seen as a go-to vendor.
- Enterprises are actively looking for desktop PC alternatives.
- 81 percent of enterprises are interested in cutting data center energy costs, but few (23 percent) see energy efficiency as a deal breaker when it comes to buying from a vendor.
- Enterprises are looking at a variety of technologies to replace desktop PCs. These technologies include local desktop virtualization, blade PCs and thin clients.
Here’s a look at the x86 server upgrade cycle:
Source: Enterprise And SMB Hardware Survey, North America And Europe, Q3 2008, Forrester Research, Inc.
And here’s a look at the leading PC vendors for enterprises:
Source: Enterprise And SMB Hardware Survey, North America And Europe, Q3 2008, Forrester Research, Inc.
A few notable themes to note in that PC chart:
- Lenovo is all about the laptops.
- Apple has been a corporate player in the last 12 months, but companies don’t see the company remaining that way for future purchases.
- Dell is comfortably ahead of HP.
Among SMBs the PC picture is very similar. Dell and HP clearly lead. However, Apple has more of a presence for purchases in the last 12 months and in the future.
Also see: Forrester: VMware well positioned among enterprises and SMBs
Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and Editorial Director of ZDNet sister site TechRepublic. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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