The global server market reached remarkable heights in the fourth quarter of 2024, achieving $77.3 billion in revenue, as reported by IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Server Tracker. This 91% increase year-over-year denotes the second-highest growth rate since 2019, showcasing an upswing in global server infrastructure investments, with a significant focus on GPU-powered systems.
The surge in revenue can be attributed to various factors. x86 servers generated $54.8 billion, reflecting a 59.9% hike from the same quarter in 2023. In contrast, non-x86 servers experienced an impressive 262.1% increase, totaling $22.5 billion and indicating a diversification in computing architectures. Furthermore, the demand for servers with embedded GPUs skyrocketed by 192.6% year-over-year, highlighting the growing need for accelerated computing driven by AI and machine learning.
Throughout the entirety of 2024, the server market accumulated a staggering total of $235.7 billion in sales, more than doubling since 2020. Embedded GPUs became instrumental, constituting over half of the year’s total server revenue. NVIDIA further cemented its leadership in the GPU server market, accounting for over 90% of all server shipments with embedded GPUs during the fourth quarter, confirming its dominance amidst the growing prevalence of AI workloads across various sectors.
Lidice Fernandez, Group Vice President at IDC, emphasized the rapid adoption of AI, noting that hyperscalers, cloud service providers, enterprises, and governments are prioritizing these investments. He also pointed out that the rising concerns regarding energy consumption within data centers are compelling organizations to reassess their architectures for improved efficiency and sustainability.
Geographically, North America led the growth, with Canada exhibiting the highest year-over-year growth rate by the end of 2024, closely followed by the United States at 118.4%. The U.S. represented 56% of the global server revenue for Q4, while Canada contributed 1.1%. China’s significant 93.3% growth rate captured approximately 25% of the global quarterly revenue. Other regions like Japan and APeJC also saw strong double-digit growth, whereas Latin America had a modest growth rate of 7%.
In vendor rankings, Dell Technologies and Supermicro finished the quarter in a statistical tie for the top position, holding market shares of 7.2% and 6.5%, respectively. Supermicro displayed the most substantial growth among the leading vendors at 55% year-over-year, while Dell achieved a respectable growth of 20.6%. Following them were Hewlett Packard Enterprise, IEIT Systems, and Lenovo, each holding market shares between 4.9% and 5.5%.
The ODM Direct manufacturers group, which produces servers directly for hyperscale customers, claimed a remarkable 47.3% of the total revenue, marking an explosive growth of 155.5% year-over-year in Q4, generating $36.57 billion. This trend indicates an increasing reliance on custom server solutions tailored to fulfill the specific needs of large-scale operators.
Overall, the IDC data unveils a rapidly evolving landscape, characterized by a shift towards GPU-powered infrastructure optimized for AI, as the market robustly responds to the demands for scalability, performance, and sustainability.
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