Solution providers predict a rough ride for server sales in 2009, especially for blades and midrange servers. Some VARs say the slowdown reflects anticipated weakness in the enterprise market.
Consolidation and virtualization also figure into the mix. Solution providers note that those services seek better utilization rates on existing infrastructure as a way to reduce the overall number of servers. While consolidation and virtualization can yield a quick ROI for the customer, they conspire against more unit server sales.
Only 25 percent of VARs surveyed predict an increase in blade server sales in 2009, while just 28 percent anticipate an increase in midrange servers. The one bright spot seems to be in entry-level servers, where 39 percent of the respondents to the SOM survey predict a sales increase.
Some VARs attribute this to more strength in the small-business market than in enterprise business.
"We are seeing some issues in the midmarket; it's uncertainty and people are just waiting," said Arlin Sorensen, CEO of Heartland Technology Solutions, Harlan, Iowa. "In SMB, we aren't seeing that at all. We had a good month in October; we haven't seen it in our numbers at all."
