Beaverton, OR – October 1, 2007 – Enterprise customers see the x86 server market as a two-horse race between IBM and Hewlett-Packard, narrowly favoring IBM over HP on x86 server technology, but preferring HP on product quality and customer support criteria, according to a survey conducted by Gabriel Consulting Group (GCG). The two other major x86 server vendors, Sun Microsystems and Dell Inc., placed third and fourth respectively.

GCG’s semiannual Server Vendor Preference Survey polls real-world customers – IT managers, architects, and administrators – with a battery of questions that assess their perceptions of the vendors, vendor server offerings, and special issues such as power/ cooling and floor space concerns, virtualization, and future purchasing plans.

Some highlights from GCG’s 2Q’07 Server Vendor Preference Survey: 

·         HP or IBM either won or tied for first in almost every technical and customer support category.

·         Sun Microsystems finished third in the overall ‘Vendor Face-Off’ – significantly ahead of Dell – despite having been in the x86 market for only a few years.

·         55% of respondents said that their server purchases are heavily influenced by power and floor space concerns. 65% said these considerations will become much more important in the future.

·         63% reported that they are either testing or already using virtualization on at least some portion of their x86 servers; about half believe that the virtualized usage model will become prevalent in their organization.

·         More than half of survey respondents said they expected to purchase fewer, but larger, x86 systems in the future.

The four major x86 vendors – IBM, HP, Sun, and Dell – are competing for a market that grew a modest 6% in 2006, but is the largest single computing segment in terms of both shipments and revenue. The GCG Vendor Preference Surveys provide much-needed insight on customers’ opinions about the systems they use and the support they receive.

The survey was conducted among 297 enterprise customers who work with x86 systems, know what’s happening on the data center floor, and can project IT trends. 83% of the survey group currently use servers from three or more vendors, and almost a third run systems from five or more vendors. This makes them exceptionally qualified to compare and contrast all aspects of technology and service.

GCG will release in-depth reports detailing vendor-specific results and customer opinions on issues such as x86 virtualization, energy consumption, and future buying plans.  

Gabriel Consulting Group is a research, analysis, and consulting firm dedicated to helping our clients achieve maximum return on their Information Technology investment. We provide pragmatic consulting services, industry analysis, and custom research designed to help our clients reach their business goals through efficient and effective use of Information Technology.

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For more information:  www.GabrielConsultingGroup.com