Intel Corp (INTC)

[SemiconEng]

Servers: More Bells And Whistles, Please
Tech buyers aren't just looking for bargains now -- they want innovation

http://yahoo.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_12/b3875079_mz063.htm
Most surprising, IBM is growing faster than Dell in key segments of the low-end server market. According to the IDC report, Big Blue had the fastest percentage growth for the past eight quarters in the market for Intel servers, which cost $1,000 to $25,000. One key reason: IBM sells servers with 8 to 16 Intel chips, while Dell has stopped selling those more complex systems. IBM is using its knowhow in 16-chip servers to deliver other innovations: Customers can rent supercomputing power from Intel clusters in IBM's new hosting centers.

Not that it's time to pass the hat for Dell. Its strategy of hyperefficiency, including spare investments in technology, helped Dell boost its share of the server market last year to 9.1% from 8.2%. IBM, meantime, increased its lead to 31.6% from 29.3%. In fact, Dell and IBM act like pincers in the server market, with IBM squeezing from the top and Dell from the bottom. Sun Microsystems Inc. (SUNW ), in particular, has lost share...........

Semi