Organisations that use blade servers, as opposed to traditional rack-mounted systems, consider them a mature technology, IT market watcher IDC has found. They are therefore more concerned with driving down costs than finding the most technologically advanced equipment.

IDC’s research found that spending on blade servers in Western Europe is growing, but at a slower pace than on traditional rack-based server systems.

The IT market research company found that spending on traditional rack machines grew by 37% in 2010, compared with 18% growth in blade spending. This was the first time that IDC has found this effect since it began tracking the market in 2003.

Giorgio Nebuloni, a research analyst with IDC, remarked that organisations that use blade servers typically have a more advanced approach to IT.

“Being so advanced technologically, blade users are now increasingly considering blade machines as a mature infrastructure component,” he said. “Choices are driven by broader considerations around financial stability, price point and breadth of hardware portfolio.”