IDC's Technology Valuation Services provides core data and information for IT financing providers and product managers to understand equipment life cycles and measure risk in IT investments. These services provide technology assessments, including detailed road maps, current fair market values, and residual value forecasts for IT equipment portfolio managers, product marketing managers, sales professionals, procurement executives, and IT financing and leasing specialists. Technologies covered include servers, clients, storage systems, networking, and communications equipment.

• Product life-cycle and technology assessments
• Portfolio valuations
• Evaluation of vendor primary and secondary market strategies
• Dell, HP, IBM, and Cisco rack and blade servers
• Dell, Gateway, HP, Lenovo, and Toshiba PCs
• EMC, HP, Hitachi Data Systems, IBM, Network Appliance, and Oracle storage products
• HP, IBM, and Oracle enterprise servers
• Cisco networking equipment

• Blade Server Residual Value Forecast
• Cisco Networking Equipment Residual Value Forecast
• EMC Symmetrix and CLARiiON Storage Residual Value Forecast
• Desktop and Notebook PC Residual Value Forecast
• HP StorageWorks Residual Value Forecast
• Hitachi Data Systems Storage Residual Value Forecast
• IBM Enterprise Storage Residual Value Forecast
• IBM System z9 Server, Power Server, and System x Server Residual Value Forecast
• Network Appliance Storage Residual Value Forecast
• x86-Based PC and Server Residual Value Forecast
• Oracle Microsystems Server Residual Value Forecast
• Oracle-Sun Storage Residual Value Forecast

In addition to the insight provided in this service, IDC may conduct research on specific topics or emerging market segments via research offerings that require additional IDC funding and client investment.

1. Will demand exist for this equipment type by lease end? What will the economic value be in three to five years?
2. How is this vendor positioned relative to its competitors, and what is its outlook?
3. Will emerging technologies render this equipment obsolete in the near future?
4. How will the increasingly global used equipment market impact used equipment prices and secondary market dynamics?
5. How will new product discounting practices impact the resale for each type of equipment one to four years into the future?

IDC's Technology Valuation Services research examines how key manufacturers are positioning products in the major server, storage, networking, and communications markets and how their products' primary and secondary market prices will track, including those from Avaya, Cisco, Dell, EMC, Hitachi Data Systems, HP, IBM, Intel, Network Appliance, and Oracle-Sun.

For IT suppliers or IT buyers doing business planning and budgeting, sales and marketing, or performance measurement, we have the custom offerings to optimize your success at every stage of your business. Our data- and content-driven approach helps you make better decisions, drive more effective marketing programs, and effectively measure your success — resulting in a greater return on your investment.

Whether you are a technology buyer or provider, IDC Insights' research translates today's global end-user requirements and trends into business opportunities for your organization. With dedicated businesses targeting energy, financial services, government, healthcare, manufacturing, and retail, IDC provides unmatched integration of global technology and vertical industry expertise to deliver industry-specific customer intelligence that gives clients a powerful business advantage.

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