Server virtualisation continues to reel due to the effects of recession, although there are signs of recovery as customer adoption expands, according to the latest research from analyst firm IDC.
According to IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Server Virtualization Tracker, 16.5% of all new servers shipped in the second quarter of 2009 were virtualised, an increase from 14.5% in second quarter of 2008. However, actual shipments decreased 21% year over year to 246,000 physical servers as customers continue to limit spending on new server hardware relative to last year.
The research showed that worldwide virtualisation software revenue declined 18.7% to $344m, compared to the same period last year. The server virtualisation market continues to shift towards the use of paid hypervisors, with paid virtualisation software running on 60.8% of all new server hardware shipments virtualised in second quarter, an increase over 57.2% in the same period last year.
Hewlett-Packard held onto the number one spot for worldwide new server shipments virtualised with 36% market share. Its shipments declined 18% compared to same period a year ago and grew 1% sequentially. These results were driven primarily by its x86 Proliant server business. Dell retained the second spot with its market share growing 9% sequentially, while IBM remained in the third position with 15% market share.
VMware continues to hold the number one (VMware ESX) and number two (VMware Server) virtualisation platforms, despite revenues declining 22%, compared to same period last year. Microsoft virtualisation license shipments declined 16% year over year, due to continued depreciation of Virtual Server 2005. The Hyper-V stood fourth with an increase of 54% while Parallels Virtuozzo stands at number five, with license shipments declining 36% year over year, according to the report.
The Citrix XenServer showed the largest increase, growing 108% year over year due to the company changing its business model and offering the product for free with certain management functionality.
Matt Eastwood, group vice president of enterprise platforms at IDC, said: In the second quarter, IDC observed a number of signs indicating that stability is beginning to take hold in the worldwide server market. The worldwide server installed base has aged significantly and virtual machine densities on these systems have increased sharply over the past year.
“As a result, the market is poised for the beginning of a significant infrastructure refresh cycle in the months ahead. IDC believes that virtualisation will be a cornerstone technology as medium and large enterprise organisations around the globe accelerate the need for more dynamic and converged infrastructure designed to support the business needs of the next economic cycle.
