TIBURON, Calif–August 31, 2010–The workstation market posted another round of solid numbers in the second quarter of 2010, but that growth is expected to slow in Q3. So reports Jon Peddie Research (JPR) after wrapping up its second quarter analysis as part of its JPR Workstation Report series. The technology and market research firm reports that the industry shipped 795,000 workstations worldwide in Q2, resulting in sequential growth of 9.6% and a year-over-year increase of 32%. The 32% year-over-year growth matched the largest JPR has seen since Q1’06, though that shouldn’t be surprising when considering how dramatically the market had fallen by Q2’09.
Dell and HP once again in a deadlock for market leadership
The story’s now sounding very familiar. In the second quarter, HP and Dell were once again in a virtual tie for leadership in the workstation market. Dell just nudged HP in units, but by JPR’s estimates, HP nosed out Dell in revenue. For yet another quarter, JPR calls this race a tie.
Expect future growth to moderate
The industry has had some hints that the workstation numbers for the second quarter were going to be strong. The industry has a consistent leading indicator for workstation market performance coming from the related market for professional graphics hardware. That market for professional GPUs (graphics processing units, either add-in cards or mobile modules) had been on a hot run, exceeding growth expectations for the preceding four quarters, especially Q1’10, which posted an all-time high of 1.3 million units. All those professional GPUs have to go somewhere, and the vast majority eventually ship in workstations. As professional GPU shipments rise, then so will workstation volume.
By contrast, the professional graphics hardware market moderated in the second quarter, essentially flat from Q1. Accordingly, while Jon Peddie Research expects workstation growth to continue into the third quarter, the firm anticipates a more moderate pace. And given concerns that the previous quarters’ exceptionally hot numbers were hinting at a market getting too far ahead of itself, that moderation is probably a healthy thing.
About the JPR Workstation Report
Now in its twelfth year, JPR’s Workstation Report – Professional Computing Markets and Technologies has established itself as the essential reference guide for hardware and software vendors and suppliers serving the workstation and professional graphics markets.
The JPR Workstation Report series consists of two asynchronous threads of research: four quarterly issues that address the workstation and professional graphics markets, and two semi-annual issues that cover virtually every aspect of the two industries.
The market quarterlies dissect and analyze each quarter’s shipment results across many metrics, including architecture, OS, number of sockets, price class, geography and usage. Market quarterlies are typically 30 to 50 pages in length and are issued as soon as all tracked vendors have released their quarterly data.
The semi-annual issues describe and assess all aspects of workstations and professional graphics: the markets, the technologies and the vendors. Semi-annual issues, typically around 300 to 400 pages, are built as up-to-date reference manuals, providing a comprehensive snapshot on the state of the industries — essentially a one-stop shop for information and analysis on anything and anyone associated with workstations and professional graphics. The semi-annual issues are targeted to release on or around April 1 and October 1, plus or minus a week or two depending (primarily) on the timing of important industry events.