E02¶


Research	R0045 — Prediction Verification
Run	2026-03-29
Query	Q001
Source	SRC01
Evidence	SRC01-E02
Type	Statistical

Sun held 54% worldwide Unix server market share in Q1 2002

URL: https://sparc.org/2003/sun-leads-worldwide-unix-server-market-in-revenue-and-unit-market-share-gains-share-in-all-os/

Extract¶

In Q1 2002, Sun held 54 percent of worldwide Unix server market share. IBM saw a 4.1 percentage point loss to 17.2 percent, while HP increased from 16.6 percent to 19.8 percent, unseating IBM to take the number two spot. The data shows Sun's dominant position was beginning to erode from its Q4 2001 US peak of 68.5%, though it still held majority share worldwide.

Relevance to Hypotheses¶

Hypothesis	Relationship	Strength
H1	Supports	Confirms Sun's continued dominance into early 2002, while showing the beginning of share erosion
H2	Supports	Sun still held majority share, consistent with H2's narrative
H3	N/A	This data is about Unix/RISC competitors (HP, IBM), not Linux directly

Context¶

The shift from 68.5% US share (Q4 2001) to 54% worldwide share (Q1 2002) partly reflects different geographic scopes. However, it also reflects the beginning of Sun's long decline, as HP and IBM gained ground. The 2001 IT recession was hitting Sun's traditional customer base hard.