Abstract: Servers usually refer to computers with high computing power that can be used by multiple users, and are composed of hardware such as CPU, memory, hard disk, and power supply. With the recovery of market demand and the country's acceleration of the construction of new infrastructure in seven major fields such as 5G, big data center, industrial Internet, and artificial intelligence, China's server market demand is strong, and server shipments are also growing. In 2022, China's server shipments will be 4.478 million units, a year-on-year increase of 14.5%.
1. Definitions and Classification
Servers usually refer to computers with high computing power that can be used by multiple users, and are composed of hardware such as CPU, memory, hard disk, and power supply. Servers can be classified into storage servers, cloud servers, AI servers, and edge servers according to application scenarios.
Second, industry policies
In recent years, the state has successively introduced policies related to the server industry to promote the development of servers. In June 2023, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other five departments issued the "Implementation Opinions on Improving the Reliability of the Manufacturing Industry", proposing to focus on improving intelligent products such as drones, virtual reality/augmented reality (VR/AR) equipment, service robots, and smart door locks, as well as electronic special equipment such as exposure machines, evaporation machines, slicers, and coating machines, electronic measuring instruments such as mass spectrometers, oscilloscopes, and electronic lenses, high-efficiency photovoltaic cells and other products, IoT terminals such as Beidou navigation terminals and 5G communication equipment, high-end servers, laser printers, The level of reliability of computers and peripherals such as teleconferencing systems. In January 2024, the Shandong Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Shandong Provincial People's Government issued the "Opinions on Accelerating the High-quality Development of the Digital Economy", proposing to promote the reorganization of national key laboratories such as high-performance server and storage technology, digital home appliances, and digital multimedia technology, and actively integrate them into the national key laboratory system.
Third, the development process
The development of local enterprises in the field of servers in mainland China began in 1993 when Inspur developed the first server product, SM2000. At this stage, the domestic server was officially born, and a breakthrough was made in the low-end field. In the 21st century, domestic servers have transformed from a "product-centric" model to a "customer-centric" model, but domestic servers only focus on the low-end field, during which the sales volume of the mainland high-end server market accounted for only 4% of the overall market, but contributed to 53% of the sales, and the high-end server market was firmly controlled by IBM, HP and SUN. Since 2003, international manufacturers such as HP, IBM, and Dell have begun to expand into the low-end market, and domestic servers have fallen into crisis. Since 2006, domestic servers have begun to test the high-end field, and international manufacturers have continued to erode the low-end market, while domestic manufacturers have increased product research and development in the high-end field while adopting value-added services and customization strategies in the low-end market. In 2010, with the launch of TS850, the first self-designed eight-way server product in China, and Sugon, it announced the successful development of blade servers equipped with Loongson, and domestic servers were truly associated with high-end levels. Since 2012, domestic servers have entered a stage of full development. At present, domestic servers have entered the entire high, medium and low-end fields, and the overall growth rate is much higher than that of international manufacturers.
Fourth, industry barriers
1. Financial barriers
Entering the server industry requires a certain amount of investment, including the hardware cost of the server (such as processor, memory, hard disk, etc.), software cost (such as operating system, database software, etc.), and possibly license fees. At the same time, the operation and maintenance of servers also require investment, including power costs, network bandwidth costs, cooling equipment costs, and computer room rent. Therefore, new entrants to the server industry have high financial barriers.
2. Channel barriers
The sale of server products requires the establishment of a wide range of sales channels and partner networks. Server companies that have established stable sales channels and partnerships have a greater competitive advantage, while new entrants to the server industry need to spend time and energy to establish these channels and partnerships, and there are certain channel barriers for new entrants.
3. Technical barriers
The server industry is a knowledge-intensive industry, with the characteristics of high-tech, knowledge-intensive, technology-leading and integration with customer industry applications, involving multiple disciplines, technologies and industries, with rapid technology updates and frequent upgrades, requiring long-term continuous research and innovation. Therefore, enterprises that can enter the server field need to have strong technical and industry application knowledge, which objectively forms a high technical barrier.
4. Brand barriers
The server industry is highly competitively competitive, and brand awareness is crucial for the survival and development of server companies. Well-known brands have a high degree of recognition and reputation in the market, and can attract more customers and partners. New entrants to the server industry need to spend a lot of time and money to build brand awareness and credibility, which can be a big challenge for some small or start-up server businesses.
Fifth, the industrial chain
1. Analysis of the industry chain
The upstream of the server industry chain mainly includes the manufacturing of hardware equipment such as CPU, hard disk, memory, chipset, connector and related software industry. The midstream of the industrial chain is mainly server manufacturing. The downstream of the industrial chain is mainly server applications, including Internet, cloud computing, telecommunications, data centers, etc.
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