Analyst predicts fourfold increase in blade server shipments, thanks to improved interoperability

Blade servers will account for almost 21.6 percent of all server shipments in 2011, according to analyst iSuppli.

Worldwide shipments of blade servers stood at 620,000 in 2006 and are expected to reach 2.4 million over the next four years.

The first blade server was shipped by Houston-based RLX Technologies in 2001, but subsequent sales were lower than expected.

Interoperability initiatives are helping to drive the recovery, said Peter Lin, senior analyst for compute platforms at iSuppli.

“With the advantages of high density, flexibility, power savings and simplified manageability, coupled with efforts from key blade server technology vendors to promote the interoperability of their products, iSuppli believes that blade servers will be the fastest-growing segment of the server market during the next few years,” said Lin.

Blade server shipments for 2007 are expected to reach 856,000, rising to 1.2 million in 2008.