Report: 4 suppliers account for half of all containerized data center shipments

A new report from IMS Research reveals that, in the emerging market for containerized data centers, just a few companies hold a significant share. Half of all shipments estimated for 2012 were found by IMS to come from just four suppliers, while 80 percent of all shipments are said to be held by nine suppliers. The remaining 20 percent of the market is largely supplied by local integrators and electrical contractors, according to the firm's latest research.

The report classifies the containerized data center supplier environment in terms of three major company types. The first group is IT companies which include Dell, HP and IBM. These companies were some of the earliest entrants to the market and specialize in selling IT hardware. The second group, data center infrastructure (DCI) companies, include those that supply power and cooling equipment to data centers. Some examples of DCI companies are Eaton, Emerson and Schneider Electric.

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The final group, electrical contractors and integrators, include a greater assortment of companies. They can range from large integrators such as World Wide Technologies and NxGen Modular solutions to small local providers that have sold only one or two containerized solutions.

The report estimates that IT companies will account for the greatest share of shipments in 2012.

IMS Research senior analyst Liz Cruz explains, “Given that these companies were some of the earliest entrants to the market with products like Dell’s MDC, IBM’s PMDC and HP’s POD, it makes sense that they currently have a stronger foothold. Now that the market is starting to see growth, a greater variety of companies are entering the scene. It will be interesting to see how the supplier environment unfolds over the next few years.”

More information about the containerized data center report is available here.