IBM strengthened its position as the top vendor for worldwide server revenues as both Dell and Big Blue grew ahead of the market in the second quarter 2008, according to analyst Gartner.

Total global server revenue for Q2 2008 was up 5.7 per cent on the same period last year to $13.8bn (£7.4bn). IBM's market share grew 1.6 points to 31.2 per cent as revenue rose 11.5 per cent to $4.3bn. HP lost ground in second place as its market share dipped four fifths of a point to 27.6 per cent. Revenue stood at $3.8bn, a 2.9 per cent increase.

Dell moved into third spot after its revenue rose 15 per cent to $1.8bn and market share was up a point to 13 per cent. Sun slipped to fourth as revenue declined 6.8 per cent to $1.6bn and market share was down 1.6 points to 11.8 per cent. Fujitsu and Fujitsu Siemens remained in fifth with revenue down 0.1 per cent to $493m and market share down a fifth of a point to 3.6 per cent. All other vendors held 12.8 per cent of the market, down a tenth of a point, with revenue up five per cent to $1.8bn.

2.3 million servers were shipped during the quarter, an increase of 12.2 per cent on 2007's second quarter. HP led the way with 706,724 units shipped, a rise of 8.7 per cent. The vendor's market share declined one point, however, and stood at 30.2 per cent. Dell strengthened its position in second spot as shipments rose 24.2 per cent to 577,163 and market share was up 2.4 points to 24.7 per cent.
IBM took third after its shipments rose 4.7 per cent to 308,835, though market share fell almost one point to 13.2 per cent. Sun was in fourth with 96,510 units shipped, a spike of 1.6 per cent. Its market share was down half a point to 4.1 per cent.

Fujitsu and Fujitsu Siemens stayed in fifth, with shipments up 3.3 per cent to 61,077 and market share down a fifth of a point to 2.6 per cent. All other vendors accounted for 25.2 per cent of the market, up a fifth of a point on last year, as shipments rose 13.1 per cent to 590,732.

Gartner's research vice president Jeffrey Hewitt said: "In spite of economic constraints in some markets like the US, on a worldwide basis, servers continued to grow in the second quarter of the year. The most significant driver in the quarter continued to be an upswing in x86 server replacements that started in the first quarter. This, coupled with web data center build outs and growth in emerging markets, produced solid Q2 results."