Lenovo has become the biggest x86 server provider in China on the back of its acquisition of IBM’s x86 server business. IDC believes this acquisition will enrich Lenovo’s x86 server portfolio and strengthen its products and channels.
IDC’s latest data on China x86 server market shows, Lenovo shipped 99 101 units in the first half of 2014 and is ranked fourth among all vendors in the same category. Combining IBM and Lenovo’s shipments in this period of time would make Lenovo the biggest vendor in China x86 server market with a market share of 23,9%.
IDC expects Lenovo’s acquisition to have the following impact on the domestic and global market landscape:
* Lenovo server product line and IBM System x server product line are highly complementary with little overlap. After the acquisition is completed, IBM’s four-socket server and blade server will be combined with Lenovo’s volume products, and a more comprehensive product portfolio will be shaped.
At the same time, Lenovo will combine its regional reach with IBM’s experience in product R&D, so as to enhance its overall competitive advantage, which will impacts the other vendors in the market. It is interesting to note that Lenovo is only narrowly ahead of the runner-up Dell in terms of market share in China, hence IDC expects the competition for the top position will become increasingly fierce in the foreseeable future.
* IDC believes that after one or two quarters to stabilise and integrate the business internally, Lenovo will regain the market share that it previously lost to its competitors during the period of initial integration, and its growth momentum will be fuelled especially in the time when the large Internet companies in China are still investing heavily in data centre construction.
* IDC expects Lenovo to integrate the channels of IBM System X with its own existing channel resources, and will position itself as a partner of the channels and the ecosystem instead of a competitor. Meanwhile, IDC also expects Lenovo to enhance its co-operation with software providers such as Microsoft and VMware.
* As a domestic vendor, Lenovo’s leading position in the market after this acquisition will help other domestic vendors establish their own brand images. IDC expects “Made in China” solutions will become more popular in the enterprise IT market in China.
* From the perspective of the global market, through the acquisition, Lenovo has become one of the world’s top three x86 server vendors with a global market share of 11,7% in the first half of 2014. IDC notes that Lenovo’s previous acquisition of IBM PC business in 2005 and the subsequent nine years of operation has made it the industry leader in the global PC market. And the successful experience will help Lenovo realise smooth integration of the newly-acquired server business. This will also help Lenovo expand its market overseas by replicating its success in the PC field.
Eric Peng, IDC China’s research manager of Enterprise System notes that the newly released ThinkServer Gen5 server, ThinkCloud AIO Cloud operating system and IBM System X product will greatly enhance Lenovo’s competitive advantage as a leading infrastructure and Cloud service provider.