In our January 2008 Metal Market report, IBM's enterprise-class application server hardware prices rose while Dell's dropped. In this June 2008 report, the situation has reversed with Dell joining HP and Apple just beyond the $7,000 mark. Apple again handily beats MPC's NetFRAME pricing. Include Apple when investigating comparable HP and Dell servers.
The Metal Market
The Metal Market reflects Info-Tech's regular survey of server vendors offering on-line ordering and customization. According to Info-Tech Indaba research, 52% of Info-Tech IRD members purchase servers from OEMs. Of these server purchases, 25% are conducted online, increasing to nearly 30% when enterprises acquire servers to expand infrastructure.