RENO, NV -- (Marketwire) -- 03/26/12 -- Synergy Research Group announces the publication of the 4Q11 Cloud Equipment Market Share report. This report provides quarterly revenues and market shares for computing systems, storage systems and networking infrastructure that are used to support the provision of public and private cloud services.

The fourth quarter of 2011 saw cloud equipment revenues reach $10.6 billion, giving a 2011 total of $39.4 billion -- up 15% from 2010. North America continued to account for the largest share of the worldwide market (43%), but growth rates in both the EMEA and Asia-Pac regions were substantially higher than North America. IBM saw a year-end spike in revenues and almost caught up with HP in the fourth quarter, but for the year as a whole HP maintained a gap and accounted for 17.4% of worldwide revenues, compared to 15.9% for IBM. It is notable that HP grew its cloud equipment revenues by 10% in 2011 while IBM's growth was just 2%; in 2010 the two companies were virtually tied for the position of lead vendor in this segment.

Meanwhile, networking giant Cisco registered revenue growth of 23% from 2010 to 2011 and closed the gap on its computing competitors. Indeed, in North America Cisco was essentially tied with HP and IBM for market leadership in the final quarter of 2011. It dominates the networking segment of the market and is also making an impact on the computing systems segment via its blade servers.

"Cloud services are clearly a game changer in the market and we're seeing huge growth in interest, service launches, and customers," said Jeremy Duke, Founder & Chief Analyst, Synergy Research Group. "The vendors that provide infrastructure for cloud services have the opportunity to benefit greatly from this surge -- you don't see many $40 billion markets growing by 15% per year."

About Synergy Research Group

Synergy Research Group (www.srgresearch.com) provides market intelligence, analytics, and strategic consulting services to the networking and telecom industries. For over a decade, Synergy has been a respected leader for quantitative analysis with a focus on emerging technologies, being the first to track IP Telephony and VoIP equipment. Synergy Research Group delivers quarterly data and analytical web-based tools with a comprehensive set of syndicated research services covering UC Applications, Enterprise Voice, Data Center, Mobile Internet Infrastructure, Videoconferencing & TelePresence, Network Security, Cloud Communication & Collaboration, Content Delivery Networks, IPTV, Routers, Ethernet Switching, Service Provider VoIP, SAN, Smart Grid, WLANs, and emerging IP communication technologies.

Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=1929192