IDC's Servers and Computing Platforms service provides continuous market data and analysis of the worldwide computing platforms markets, including hardware and software platforms. The infrastructure industry is in a state of transition because of disruptive trends such as cloud, hyperscale, Big Data, social media, and mobility. This service provides research and analysis on the manner in which these trends are reshaping the hardware (systems, platforms, and components) and software (including client and server and physical and virtual operating platforms) markets and the manner in which they are likely to be built, acquired, and consumed in the future. This service also analyzes significant new technologies, product introductions, and vendor strategies.

• Worldwide and U.S. server market share and forecasts
• Converged and integrated systems
• Cloud and service provider infrastructures
• Disaggregated systems and the role of software defined
• Virtualization and cloud system software, and the impact on servers
• High-availability (HA) and fault-tolerant systems
• Big Data and database servers
• Scale-up and hyperscale computing platforms
• Worldwide and U.S. server-install base
• Service provider use of servers
• Next-generation computing platforms
• Vendor performance, strategies, and portfolios
• The changing role of operating systems in cloud computing
• Impact of thin operating systems on the market
• The relationship between OS and container technology
• The impact of virtualization on server operating platforms

• Worldwide Server Market Forecast
• Worldwide Hyperscale Server Forecast
• Worldwide Server Cloud Computing Forecast
• Highly Available Server Market Forecast
• Worldwide and U.S. Installed Base Forecast
• Operating Platforms Forecasts and Analyses
• Operating Platforms Market Trends
• Computing Platforms Market Trends

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. What will the impact be from the emergence of converged systems that integrate servers, storage, and network?
2. As cloud computing matures, how will public and private clouds shape the server market in the future? How will service provider consumption of servers impact the market?
3. What are the next set of trends in server virtualization — virtual sprawl, management, and mobility?
4. How will emerging server technologies, including disaggregated and composable servers, impact the industry?
5. What impact will hyperscale, open compute, and low-power servers have on volume x86 servers?
6. How will advances in the multicore processors push the x86 server upmarket to address high-end workloads?
7. How is the ODM portion of the server market evolving, and how is that changing the dynamics for other market segments?
8. What operating platforms are going to be successful in a virtualized-, container-, and cloud-centric world?
9. How are virtualized operating systems growing, and what products are most widely used?
10. How are newer computing platforms form factors like Edge computing devices and Gateways tracked?