Japan PC Server Shipments Hit Record in FY ’04

Tokyo, May 25 (Jiji Press)–Shipments of personal computer servers in Japan in fiscal 2004 that ended in March grew 17.3 pct from the previous year to an annual record of 429,800 units, a private research firm said Wednesday.

PC server shipments thus increased for the second straight year, said the MM Research Institute.

Demand from corporate users increased on the back of Japan’s economic recovery, it said.

In value, however, PC server shipments were almost flat at 177 billion yen amid the growing popularity of low-priced models, it said.

NEC Corp. grabbed the top market share of 22.3 pct, followed by Dell Inc. with an 18.5 pct share and Hewlett-Packard Japan Ltd. with a 17.6 pct share.

Fujitsu Ltd. ranked fourth with a 15.4 pct share, and IBM Japan Ltd. fifth with a 14.7 pct share.

Foreign-affiliated makers’ share of the Japanese PC server market topped 50 pct for the first time ever in fiscal 2004, with the combined share of Dell, Hewlett-Packard Japan and IBM Japan reaching 50.8 pct, according to the research institute.

For fiscal 2005, the MM Research Institute expects PC server shipments will increase 13.0 pct to 485,000 units.END