Super Micro Computer, Inc. provides total IT solutions, which address demanding workloads from the enterprise and cloud to the intelligent edge. The company delivers rack-scale solutions optimized for various workloads, including artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC), where acceleration is critical and it also produces an extensive portfolio of server and storage solutions for enterprise data centers, cloud service providers, and edge computing (5G Telco, Retail and e...
Super Micro Computer, Inc. provides total IT solutions, which address demanding workloads from the enterprise and cloud to the intelligent edge. The company delivers rack-scale solutions optimized for various workloads, including artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC), where acceleration is critical and it also produces an extensive portfolio of server and storage solutions for enterprise data centers, cloud service providers, and edge computing (5G Telco, Retail and embedded).
The company’s Total IT Solutions encompass complete servers, storage systems, modular blade servers, workstations, full-rack scale solutions, networking devices, server sub-systems, server management and security software. These turn-key solutions are designed, developed, validated and installed for leading AI datacenters. The company’s Total IT Solutions are designed for optimal power and thermal management, including using Supermicro’s state-of-the-art liquid cooling technologies. The company also provides global support and services to help its customers install, upgrade and maintain their computing infrastructure, including liquid-cooling operations. The company offers its customers a high degree of flexibility and customization by providing a broad array of server models and configurations from which they can choose the best solutions to fit their computing needs. The company’s server and storage systems, sub-systems and accessories are architecturally designed to provide high levels of reliability, quality, configurability, and scalability.
The company’s in-house design competencies, design control over many of the sub-systems required within its server and storage systems, and its Server Building Block Solutions (an innovative, modular and open architecture) enable it to rapidly develop, build and test complete solutions, which include servers, storage, software, and networking components. As a result, when new technologies are brought to market, the company is generally able to quickly assemble a broad portfolio of solutions by leveraging common building blocks across product lines. The company works closely with the leading microprocessor, graphics processing units (GPU), memory, disk/flash, and interconnect vendors and other hardware and software suppliers to coordinate its new products' design with their product release schedules. This enhances the company’s ability to rapidly introduce new products by incorporating the latest technology, improve quality and reduce costs. The company seeks to be the first to market with superior product designs, and it has the ability to offer a broad selection of products using those technologies to its customers.
The company conducts its operations principally from its Silicon Valley headquarters, Taiwan and Netherlands facilities. The company is in the process of adding capacity at its existing sites and are adding a new facility in Malaysia. The company’s sales and marketing activities operate through a combination of its direct sales force and indirect sales channel partners. The company works with distributors, value-added resellers, system integrators, and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to market and sell its optimized solutions to their end customers in its indirect sales channels.
Strategy
The key elements of the company’s strategy are to strong internal research and development and internal manufacturing capability; introduce innovative products, faster; and drive software and services sales to its global enterprise customers
In addition to serving traditional needs for server and storage systems, the company has devoted, and will continue to devote, substantial resources to developing systems that support emerging and growing applications including AI, cloud computing, 5G/edge computing, storage and others. The company plans to continue to increase its worldwide manufacturing capacity and logistics abilities in the United States, Taiwan and the Netherlands and it plans to bring additional manufacturing capacity online in Malaysia.
Products and Services
The company offers a broad range of compute, storage, and edge platforms that are application-optimized server solutions, rackmount and blade servers, storage, as well as subsystems and accessories. These products are designed to serve a variety of markets, such as enterprise data centers, cloud computing, AI, and 5G/edge computing. The company complements its accelerated compute platforms, inclusive of server and storage system offerings, with software management/security solutions, global services, and support, the revenue for which is included in its server and storage systems revenue.
Server and Storage Systems
The company provides platforms in rackmount, blade, multi-node, and embedded form factors, which support single, dual, and multiprocessor architectures. Its key product lines include:
An extensive portfolio of air-cooled and liquid-cooled AI Servers for training and inferencing, with integrated GPUs or PCIe-based architectures;
SuperBlade and MicroBlade system families are designed to share common computing resources, thereby saving space and power over standard rackmount servers;
SuperStorage systems that provide high-density storage while leveraging an efficient use of power to achieve performance-per-watt savings. Its storage systems are also designed for maximum performance for AI training environments;
Twin family of multi-node server systems designed for density, performance, and power efficiency, including FlexTwin, GrandTwin, and BigTwin;
Hyper, CloudDC, and WIO rackmount optimized systems deliver entire clusters of racks, with both liquid-cooled and air-cooled options, per customer requirements;
Embedded (5G/IoT/Edge) systems optimized for evolving networks and intelligent management of connected devices; and
MicroCloud server systems that deliver node density in environments with space and power constraints.
In addition to its server and storage platforms business, the company offers a large array of modular server subsystems and accessories, such as server boards, chassis, power supplies, and other accessories. These subsystems are the foundation of platform solutions and span product offerings from the entry-level single and dual-processor server segment to the high-end multiprocessor market. The majority of the subsystems and accessories it sells individually are designed to work together to improve performance and are ultimately integrated into complete server and storage systems.
Server Software Management Solutions
The company’s open industry-standard remote system management solutions, such as its Server Management suite, including Supermicro Server Manager (SSM), Supermicro Power Management software (SPM), Supermicro Update Manager (SUM), SuperCloud Composer, and SuperDoctor 5, have been designed to help manage large-scale heterogeneous data center environments, including liquid cooling.
Supermicro Global Services
The company provides global service and support offerings for its direct and OEM customers, as well as its indirect sales channel partners, directly or through approved distributors and third-party partners. It also identifies service requirements, creates and executes project plans, conducts verification testing and training, and provides technical documentation.
Global Services: The company’s strategic direct and OEM customers may purchase a variety of on-site support service plans. The company’s service plans vary depending on specific services, response times, coverage hours and duration, repair priority levels, spare parts requirements, logistics, data privacy, and security needs. The company’s Global Services team provides help desk services and on-site product support for its server and storage systems.
Support Services: The company’s customer support services offer competitive market warranties, generally from one to three years, and warranty extension options for products sold by its direct sales team and approved indirect sales channel partners. The company’s customer support team provides ongoing maintenance and technical support for its products through its website and 24-hour continuous, direct phone-based support.
Data Center Space Lease
On June 14, 2024, the company entered into a Master Colocation Services Agreement (the MCSA) with respect to a multi-tenanted facility located in Vernon, California.
Customers
During fiscal year 2024, the company sold to over 1,100 direct customers in over 110 countries. In addition, over the three years ended June 30, 2024, it has sold to thousands of end users through its indirect sales channel. These customers represent a diverse set of market verticals, including enterprise data centers, cloud computing, AI, 5G, and edge computing markets.
Sales and Marketing
The company’s sales and marketing activities are conducted through a combination of its direct sales force and its indirect sales channel partners. Its direct sales force is primarily focused on selling Total IT Solutions, including management software and global services to large-scale cloud, enterprise, and OEM customers. In addition, the company has a centralized command center designed to assist customers with quick and accurate configurations.
The company works with distributors, value-added resellers, system integrators, and OEMs to market and sell its optimized solutions to their end customers. It provides sales and marketing assistance and training to its indirect sales channel partners and OEMs. The company leverages its relationships in its indirect sales channel and with its OEMs to penetrate select industry vertical market segments where its products can provide better alternatives to existing solutions.
The company maintains close contact with its indirect sales channel partners and end customers. It often collaborates during the sales process with its indirect sales channel partners and the end customer’s technical staff to help determine the optimal system configuration for the customer’s needs. The company’s interaction with its indirect sales channel partners and end customers allows it to monitor customer requirements and develop new products to meet their needs.
International Sales
The company’s global sales efforts are supported both by its international offices in the Netherlands, Taiwan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, China, and Japan, as well as by its United States-based sales team. Product fulfillment and first-level support for its international customers are provided by Supermicro Global Services and through its indirect sales channel and OEMs. Sales to customers located outside of the United States represented 32.0% of net sales in fiscal year 2024.
Marketing
The company’s marketing programs are designed to create global awareness and branding for its products, as well as an understanding of the significant value it brings to customers. These programs also inform existing and potential customers, the trade press, market analysts, indirect sales channel partners, and OEMs about the strong capabilities and benefits of using its products and solutions. The company’s marketing efforts support the sale and distribution of its products through both direct sales and indirect channels. It relies on a variety of marketing vehicles, including advertising, public relations, web, social media, collateral, and participation in industry events and tradeshows, to gain market awareness and generate new customer demand. The company provides funds for cooperative marketing to its indirect sales channel partners to extend the reach of its marketing efforts. It also actively utilizes its suppliers’ cooperative marketing programs and jointly benefits from their marketing development funds to which it is entitled.
Manufacturing and Quality Control
The company uses Ablecom Technology, Inc. (Ablecom) and its affiliate Compuware Technology, Inc. (Compuware), both of which are related parties, for contract design and manufacturing coordination support. The company works with Ablecom to optimize modular designs for its chassis and several other components. Ablecom also coordinates the manufacturing of chassis for it. In addition to providing a large volume of contract manufacturing services to the company, Ablecom warehouses multiple components and subassemblies manufactured by various suppliers before shipment to its facilities in the United States, Europe, and Asia. The company also has a series of agreements with Compuware, including multiple product development, production and service agreements, product manufacturing agreements, and lease agreements for office space.
History
Super Micro Computer, Inc. was founded in 1993. The company was incorporated in California in 1993 and reincorporated in Delaware in 2007.