Roundup: Gartner, IBM, AT&T, Level 3

Here’s a roundup of some of this week’s headlines from the data center and hosting industry:

Gartner Finds Growth in Server Shipments. Gartner reported Tuesday that worldwide server shipments grew 23 percent year over year in the first quarter of 2010, while revenue increased 6 percent. The growth rate has not matched 2008 levels yet, but the U.S. accounted for the most significant growth with a 28.6 percent increase in shipments.  "Emerging regions that were expected to grow, such as Asia/Pacific, forged ahead, while some mature markets, such as the U.S., produced better-than-expected results, as other countries and regions had a 'mixed bag' of results," said Jeffrey Hewitt, research vice president at Gartner.  HP took the lead over IBM in the worldwide server market with server revenue reaching $3.4 billion, up 2.7 percent over last year.

IBM acquires AT&T unit. IBM and AT&T announced they have entered into a definitive agreement for IBM to acquire Sterling Commerce from AT&T for approximately $1.4 billion in cash.  Sterling Commerce offerings power over 18,000 global customers in financial services, retail, manufacturing, communications and distribution industries.  "The combination of IBM's products, services and skills with the Sterling Commerce B2B integration and cross-channel capabilities resulting from this acquisition is unparalleled," said Bob Irwin, CEO of Sterling Commerce.  The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2010, subject to regulatory approvals and closing conditions.

Level 3 selected by EtherSpeak. Level 3 (LVLT) announced that it has been selected to provide wholesale voice, toll-free and VoIP enhanced local services for EtherSpeak Communications, an open standard based IP communications solutions provider. EtherSpeak will be able to expand their coverage area and streamline their business by operating voice traffic on Level 3's network. "Our goal at EtherSpeak is to provide our customers with a range of highly reliable IP services including voice, fax and video, and so the quality of the network to which those services are connected is of paramount importance to us,” said Neil Darling, president of EtherSpeak Communications. “We turned to Level 3 because the company’s reliable and scalable all-IP network is a natural fit for the value we work every day to deliver to the benefit of our resellers and their customers.”