HP has taken the number one position in worldwide blade server factory revenue and units shipped, according to fourth quarter of 2006 server market figures released today by industry analyst firm IDC.

HP overtook IBM to lead the blade server market in the fourth quarter, with a 41.9 per cent share of factory revenue and a 40 per cent total factory units share, and showed more than 10 times the growth of IBM in units and revenue year-over-year.

For the 19th consecutive quarter, HP led the worldwide server market in total units shipped, with a 31.6 per cent share in the fourth quarter. HP also outpaced industry unit growth at 4.6 per cent year-over-year in that quarter, taking share from the two nearest competitors.

“IDC’s numbers show that HP continues to maintain its strength in the worldwide server market and our latest achievements in the blade server space underscore the tremendous market acceptance of HP’s breakthrough BladeSystem c-Class architecture,” said Mark Hudson, HP vice president of marketing, Enterprise Storage and Servers. “We will continue to deliver innovation across our entire server portfolio and provide customers with a superior IT infrastructure that helps them drive business growth and lower costs.”