HPC Server Market Growth Continues In 1Q12: IDC

Worldwide factory revenue for the high performance computing (HPC) technical server market increased 3.1 percent in the first quarter of 2012 (1Q12) to reach $2.4 billion, up from $2.3 billion in the same period of 2011, according to the newly released International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide High-Performance Technical Server QView.

IDC maintains its previous forecast that for full-year 2012 the HPC technical server market will expand by about 7.1 percent over the record-breaking revenues of $10.3 billion in 2011. 2012 revenues are forecast to reach $11 billion.

Unit shipments of 28,747 in 1Q12 declined by 0.5 percent compared to the first quarter of 2011 as average selling prices continued to grow during an ongoing shift to large system sales.

The brightest spot in the market continues to be the high-end Supercomputers segment, for HPC systems selling for $500,000 and up. Revenue in this segment jumped 13.9 percent over the first quarter of 2011 to reach $976 million. At the other end of the price spectrum, revenue from Workgroup HPC systems, selling for below $100,000, fell 4.6 percent year over year but rose sequentially by 5.1 percent from the fourth quarter of 2011.

The high-end Supercomputers segment accounted for 39.9 percent of worldwide HPC technical server revenue, while the Divisional segment ($250,000 to $499,000 price band) captured 12.7 percent of revenue. The Departmental segment ($100,000 to $249,000 price band) made up 35.3 percent of revenue, and the Workgroup segment contributed 12.2 percent.

“HPC technical servers, especially Supercomputers, have been closely linked not only to scientific advances but also to industrial innovation and economic competitiveness. For this reason, nations and regions across the world are increasing their investments in supercomputing even in today’s challenging economic conditions,” said Earl Joseph, Program Vice President for Technical Computing, IDC. “We expect the global race for HPC leadership in the petascale-exascale era to continue heating up during this decade.”

IDC expects the HPC technical server market to grow at a healthy 7.3 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to reach revenues of $14 billion by 2016.