Gartner: Third Of Top PC Vendors Gone In Three Years
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Three of the top 10 PC vendors will be pushed out of the business by 2007, research firm Gartner predicted Monday. By Gregg Keizer.
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Market research firm Gartner reported worldwide growth of PDA shipments for the third quarter of 2004, with Windows CE outpacing Palm OS installations for the first time.
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Gartner Inc. research director Rich Mogull says that customization of off-the-shelf software is the weakest link in application security. He spoke at the Gartner IT Security Summit in Sydney. Needless to say, some vendors in attendance were moved to respond.
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Increasingly, companies are disappearing from stock exchanges.
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Tech bellwether cites drop in demand for PC processors and flash memory.
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InfoWorld - The Story: With three of the largest competitors in the field taken over by software giants, you???d think that the best days of the business intelligence market were over. You???d be wrong.
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Controversy has erupted in the open-source world over a report from the Gartner Group that predicts the vast majority of personal computers sold in Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe that
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The Story: Call it a trend within a trend. Blade servers have become the fastest growing segment of the server market, and for the first time accounted for more than $1 billion in sales during the third quarter of 2007. Although the vast majority of those sales were to enterprise customers, IBM and Hewlett-Packard have redoubled their efforts to push blades downmarket to small and medium businesses.[ Slideshow: 2007's top underreported tech stories ]                                                    And why not? There are tens of thousands of relatively small businesses, not to mention remote offices, that already run three or more servers ? in many cases with only minimal IT resources.Both HP and IBM launched blade products aimed at the small-to-medium business market late this year. HP has the BladeSystem c3000, which can hold as many as eight blades in a single chassis, and IBM has the BladeCenter S, a six-blade chassis system with on-board storage and switch options. These may sound familiar; both companies have touted blades as a solution for the small-to-medium business market for a few years. But their newest blade servers have actually been redesigned with the needs of smaller companies in mind.A good way to understand blades? appeal to smaller businesses is to think about what an enterprise datacenter has that a small shop doesn?t ? and how the new generation of blade servers can help fill those gaps.First, datacenters offer a controlled environment. Heat and dirt are server killers, but a small business may well stick a server under a desk or in a closet. So the new breed of blades comes with a chassis that filters and cools the air, and reduces noise.Second, datacenters rely on dedicated power systems, which smaller businesses just can?t afford. The ?downmarket? blades from HP and IBM, however, run on standard 110-volt lines and have the same three-pronged plugs you?ll find on a kitchen appliance.Third, datacenters have lots of room. A small business has no space for racks, but a chassis filled with six or eight blades takes up no more space than a desktop PC.Fourth, datacenters have dedicated IT support. Small businesses can?t afford that, either. Configuring small-business blades is relatively simple, though, and most customers get them preconfigured from a reseller that specializes in their industry. Either way, the blades should be up and running fairly quickly.For now, HP and IBM are the only major vendors offering blades tailored for smaller customers. Between them, however, they account for about 75 percent of the blade market, so that may not matter. And Dell is rumored to be contemplating a move to this market, and other vendors could follow.The Bottom Line: Why should the big boys have all the fun? Blades designed for smaller businesses let you get some of the datacenter capabilities that just weren?t possible before, without the headaches and costs of a traditional datacenter. Why not check them out?Complete list of 2007 underreported stories: 1.? Java is becoming the new Cobol 2.? Sun Microsystems is back in the game 3.? Hackers take aim at Mac OS X 4.? There are some threats you can worry less about 5.? Companies may have found a way around H-1B visa limits 6.? Open source?s new commercial strategy 7.? End-to-end Ethernet finally arrives 8.? Blade servers arrive for the masses 9.? BI is dead; long live BI 10. Balance of power shifts to software buyers
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Blog: Gartner forecast says while PC shipments worldwide will increase more than previously thought, average selling price should continue to drop after this year's brief bump.
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The Story: Look in the mirror, Mr. or Ms. IT buyer. You?ve got more muscle than ever ? and you did it without steroids.[ Slideshow: 2007's top underreported tech stories ]                                                    Despite the wave of consolidation sweeping the industry, buyers have actually gained more leverage than ever when it comes to making deals with their vendors, notes a PricewaterhouseCoopers analysis. ?Software buyers need to realize that the pendulum is beginning to swing in their favor and that there are an increasing number of alternatives in today?s software market,? concurs Gartner analyst William Snyder (no relation to this writer).There are a lot of reasons for the swing, but one certainly stands out: The shift to SaaS (software as a service). The poster child for this phenomenon is Salesforce.com. "Both its development and delivery models are having a disruptive effect on the entire CRM market,? notes Forrester Research analyst Bill Band. But it?s not just Salesforce: By 2011, Snyder says, fully 25 percent of all new business software will be delivered as a service as Salesforce and other vendors push upstream from the small-business market. Already, SaaS providers make up the majority of sales for several segments of human resources applications, and is well-established for supply-chain management.[ InfoClipzflash video primer: Software as a Service ]SaaS is just the first wave of services that are pushing pricing power over to buyers: The more recent move to Web services and the beginnings of SOA (service-oriented architecture) deployment are encouraging the use of modular software, which in turn cuts development costs, makes it harder for vendors to sell expensive suites, and lessens the need for expensive consulting services.And yet another factor is upping buyer?s power, notes Gartner?s Snyder: the emergence of third-party support options that are reducing software?s TCO (total cost of ownership). ?Maintenance services have been a quasi-monopoly for software vendors,? he said. ?For many years, only the software vendor had rights to the source code of the critical components of the system. This made it impossible to go to an open, competitive market to obtain upgrades, services and support, which in turn made it impossible to negotiate maintenance fees.?Interestingly another software trend ? the growth of virtualization ? is beginning to affect pricing for hardware, particularly servers. A report by Infiniti Research suggests that server shipments will start declining in 2008: ?The server market of tomorrow will be a value game and not a volume game.? And that means better pricing for hardware, too.Don?t let your head swell too much, but Gartner vice president Mark McDonald credits ?savvy CIOs? for containing costs that were once out of control. ?They?re saying, ?I want you to implement in a way that gives me the advantage over my competition? ? and they?re not accepting the traditional vendor model, which favors homogeneity and the economics of scale.?The Bottom Line: Chances are that you?re looking at SaaS, Web services, SOA, virtualization, open source, and other technology-delivery methods for a variety of specific reasons, without realizing the cumulative effect is to give you more pricing power. Now that you?ve got the power, use it.Complete list of 2007 underreported tech stories: 1.? Java is becoming the new Cobol 2.? Sun Microsystems is back in the game 3.? Hackers take aim at Mac OS X 4.? There are some threats you can worry less about 5.? Companies may have found a way around H-1B visa limits 6.? Open source?s new commercial strategy 7.? End-to-end Ethernet finally arrives 8.? Blade servers arrive for the masses 9.? BI is dead; long live BI 10. Balance of power shifts to software buyers
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(InfoWorld) - Security software is mandatory for enterprises facing an Internet community of aggressive hackers and criminals. But enterprises shouldn't feel locked into deals with their security vendors, a Gartner analyst said. Under the right circumstances, switching vendors may make financial sense, said Peter Firstbrook, research director with Gartner. And with security vendors making a gross profit margin of 60 percent, enterprises may have more leverage when renegotiating deals, he said. "These guys [security vendors] are pretty fat and happy right now," said Firstbrook, who spoke at Gartner's IT Security Summit in London Tuesday. "They've got a very healthy profit margin. Don't feel sad for your antivirus vendor or your antivirus sales rep." Oddly, the antivirus security software market is mature, but softwareÂ costs aren't going down, Firstbrook said. The major security vendors aren't worried about losing clients because customers believe that changing products would be costly, he said. Before switching, IT managers should think about the complexity of rolling out new software. The companies best situated to make a change are those confident in their abilities to distribute software, test new products, and educate users, Firstbrook said. When slugging it out in negotiations, enterprises can do several things to ensure they get the best deal. First, companies should get quotes from a number of vendors and not be afraid to play one vendor off against another, Firstbrook said. Perpetual licenses are good, but organizations should remember that they can only negotiate a price once. Enterprises should also aim for rich packages that include home user licenses and some support, Firstbrook said. Licenses for desktops and e-mail security services should be calculated on a per-seat basis, but server license costs should be based on number of CPUs, Firstbrook said. Companies should not increase their seat count merely to meet a vendor's price list. Gartner expects an increasing number of security functions to be incorporated into single software packages, Firstbrook said. "I think that over time, vulnerability assessment, patch management, software configuration management will all merge with our antivirus software so we have one view of the security status of a PC, and if it's broken we can update it," Firstbrook said. Â
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The market for semiconductor  equipment is expected to contract by almost 10 percent in 2008  largely due to lower spending from makers of computer memory,  market research firm Gartner said in a statement on Thursday.
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Dell&#39;s retail strategy to distribute PCs is starting to show results, helping extend its lead over Hewlett-Packard as the largest U.S. PC vendor in the fourth quarter of 2007, according to figures from analyst firms Gartner and IDC.However,&#160;HP remained the world&#39;s largest PC dealer, topping Dell, Acer, and Lenovo, according to figures from both firms.Dell shipped 5.5 million units in the U.S., a 15.2 percent year-over-year increase and a 29.6 percent market share, according to IDC. HP, in second place, shipped 4.5 million units, a 9.8 percent year-over-year increase and a 24.3 percent market share. Acer, in third place, showed tremendous growth in the U.S., with shipments increasing 294.2 percent to 1.5 million units. Apple&#39;s shipments grew 30.9 percent to 1.06 million, a 5.7 percent market share. Toshiba was in fifth place, IDC said.Gartner reported that Dell shipped 5.35 million units, with a 31.4 percent market share during the fourth quarter, compared to the 29.3 percent market share it had last year. HP shipped 4.4 million units, with market share growing to 26.1 percent from 25.5 percent last year. Acer and Apple were in third and fourth places, respectively.Dell&#39;s switch from a direct sales model to&#160;selling PCs through retailers like Best Buy&#160;and&#160;Wal-Mart&#160;is paying off and has helped the company improve shipments, said David Daoud, an analyst with IDC. &quot;They&#39;re coming out of nowhere to everywhere,&quot; Daoud said.However, Dell is trying to catch up internationally with HP, which is investing more in distribution channels and understands business behavior in emerging markets better, Daoud said.According to IDC, HP shipped 14.7 million units worldwide, a 23.3 percent year-over-year growth and a 19 percent market share. Dell was in second place, shipping 11.3 million units with a 14.6 global market share, a 17.1 percent rise from the previous year. Acer saw a sharp rise, with shipments growing 60.3 percent year-over-year to 7.4 million. Lenovo came in fourth, shipping 5.8 million units, a 22.3 percent year-over-year increase. Toshiba was in fifth place.The&#160;acquisitions of Packard Bell and Gateway&#160;last year helped boost Acer&#39;s shipment volumes globally, though the companies have not yet fully contributed. &quot;Given the acquisitions are relatively recent, it will takes years or more to see tangible results,&quot; Daoud said.Acer&#39;s acquisitions have taken a bite out of Lenovo, which saw slower growth in the global market and is struggling to retain its core audience of business users, Daoud said. With the launch of the IdeaPad notebook, Lenovo is trying to expand to the mass consumer market, which has alienated its traditional business users. Lenovo needs to reassert its commitment to business customers, Daoud said.Lenovo also needs to acquire PC vendors if it wants to expand the way Acer did, although there are not many major PC vendors left for it to acquire, Daoud said.The surveys include shipments of desktops, notebooks, and ultraportable notebooks with up to 7-inch screens.
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Warm or hot? What you believe about the state of worldwide PC shipments in Q3 depends on who you listen to. According to Gartner, Inc.
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If there were any lingering doubts that we are in the post-PC era, several big stories this year should have cleared them up. The sale of IBM's PC business to China's Lenovo Group and the death of Comdex were powerful reminders that IT is in a transitional stage. When one of the hottest business stories of the year involves an IPO of a company whose technology helps people find information on the Net, it's certain that the network, to paraphrase the well-known dictum of Sun Microsystems, has become the computer.
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The global PC market continued to grow in the third quarter, according to reports from analyst firms International Data Corp. and Gartner Inc.
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Prices are likely to drop as more outlets, including PC vendors, get into the market.