To understand the Information Economy, you have to put the right numbers into perspective. A major bellwether for both backup and storage industries is the silicon supply chain, because as the amount of compute cycles increases, so does the amount of data needed to be stored and analyzed. What is interesting is that if you look at the latest PC Processor report from IDC, you can see how the market is favoring growth for server and mobile product lines.
For 2Q10, total world wide PC microprocessor unit shipments increased 3.6%, and revenues increased by 6.2%. Looking deeper into the numbers you will find systems makers bought more higher-priced PC processors for servers and mobile devices, while desktop processors remained flat. IDC is still firm on their forecast of 19.8% growth for worldwide PC processors in 2010. 2011 is not far down the path, but in terms of analysis it remains a wild-card year for sustainable shipment growth.
Though it is also important to point out that 3Q10 looks to be showing weakness. But considering the overall condition of the world wide economy, you have to expect some drawback as we move forward.
Worldwide PC Microprocessor Unit Shipments and Revenues Rise in the Second Quarter Compared to the First Quarter, According to IDC
Worldwide PC Microprocessor Unit Shipments and Revenues Rise in the Second Quarter Compared to the First Quarter, According to IDC
19 Aug 2010
PC processor vendors had a strong first half, but weakness emerges in the supply chain for 3Q10
SAN MATEO, Calif., August 19, 2010 – Worldwide PC microprocessor unit shipments and revenues in the second calendar quarter of 2010 (2Q10) increased 3.6% and 6.2%, respectively, compared to the first quarter of 2010, according to the latest PC processor study from International Data Corporation (IDC).
The average sequential change in unit shipments between a calendar year’s first quarter and its second quarter is an increase of 1.6%. For revenues, the average sequential change is a decrease of -2.8%. So, these increases represent better performance than usual for a second calendar quarter.
“Such a sequential increase in PC processor shipments alone would have been enough to conclude that the first half was strong for the market,” said Shane Rau director of Semiconductors: Personal Computing research at IDC. “However, a modest rise in revenues, too, points directly to a rise in average selling prices. System makers bought more and higher-priced PC processors in 2Q10 than in 1Q10. Digging a little deeper into the numbers shows that they bought more mobile processors and more server processors, while desktop processors remained flat.”
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Depending on which magazine or website you read, the economy is either still in the tank or on its way to even more pain; but let’s see the truth for what it is in the IT industry, which is we’re officially back to business, building products, moving scale, and capturing demand for expansion of the digital universe — you can’t stop this kind of stuff. We’re seeing hardware upgrades, infrastructure investment (just look at the Data Center space), and globally the IT market grew by 8% year-over-year, to more than $1.5 trillion, according to International Data Corporation.
What’s a good way of knowing how fast data is growing? Examine the external data storage systems market. Revenues so far have reached year-over-year growth of 20.4%, 
