Year after year we typically see data outlining the boom in sales of new servers.
While the latest estimates from Gartner show that end-user spending on servers will be $126.9 billion in 2023 (tracking an annual increase of 2.4%), this growth is expected to slow maintaining just single-digit growth until 2027.
In parallel, we are on the verge of recession (certainly in the UK) and inflation has almost certainly impacted the cost of new hardware. This makes maximising tech investment even more important.
In this two-part blog series looking at servers, we will consider the factors impacting the server sector as it stands as well as what organisations must consider when ready to invest in new equipment – and how the refurbished IT sector can mitigate the challenges caused by the macroeconomic environment.
Enter new generations
While 16th gen servers have entered the new tech market, we are seeing an uptick in the popularity of 15th generation servers, particularly in the refurbished IT sector. Sure, there are a handful of notable upgrades available on 16th gen – namely 4th gen scalable CPU’s and RAM speeds of up to 4800MHz, but when looking at like for like configs, there are few differences between the two. This makes the 15th gen a more attractive option for those in the market for a new server.
This popularity is higher still amongst managed service and hosting providers who are selecting these servers to support their end users who are bringing more activity back on-prem.
But the deciding factor over buying newer or older generations shouldn’t come down to how long the equipment has been in the market, but more so if it meets your needs.
For example, an organisation might need to use a server for file access only. As such, they might not need a powerful CPU, but they will require a processor with a high core count.
Furthermore, they may benefit from utilising SSD’s for faster file access. By carefully matching the needs of the organisation to the specs of the system, it could be that while a newer generation system could work for them, a slightly older generation model will provide more than what is needed.
The rise of declouding
Declouding (or unclouding as it is also known) involves organisations moving some of their workloads from the public cloud to on-premises, hybrid cloud or private cloud. While at the height of the pandemic, many organisations rushed to put everything into the cloud making data access easier for teams working remotely, as physical office work has resumed, this is driving more organisations to utilise on-prem servers again.
Of course, there are other reasons why organisations are deciding to decloud; cost and security being just two of these. But equally, deciding to decloud is not being taken lightly by organisations and requires a lot of planning.
Just this is likely to be slowing down the pace of growth for servers as organisations take this time to ensure they are taking informed decisions and planning adequately for which data is most important for them to remove from any clouds they might have been using. However, it is a trend we expect to see happen more often over the coming months – and is one which will benefit the server sector in time.
Balancing the budget
Under the cloud of recession, many organisations are more cautious when it comes to IT spending. Instead, organisations are looking to maximise ROI from any tech investment they make – be that extending the lifecycle of their existing server stacks or seeking alternative routes to continue digital transformation programmes. This is where the refurbished IT sector can come into its own, offering a broad range of servers that are suitable for many needs and budgets.
In our next blog on servers, we will cover the five elements that organisations should take into account before buying.
To learn more about the servers that ETB has available in stock, please visit: https://www.etb-tech.com/servers Alternatively, you can get in touch with one of our sales team directly on +44 (0)1556 610167.
