Lenovo reportedly has picked up its pace over the acquisition of IBM's entry-level server business with some of IBM's senior executives expected to join Lenovo in May, according to sources from the upstream supply chain. With the acquisition almost completed, upstream suppliers are currently competing aggressively for related orders.

　　Lenovo is set to have the newly acquired server business operate independently for the first two years, but will gradually merge IBM's product lines into its own in 3-5 years.

　　Since Lenovo already has experience from merging IBM's PC business, the sources expect its server merger to be a lot smoother.

　　Lenovo is currently outsourcing its server orders to Inventec and Wistron, while IBM's server suppliers are Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry), Pegatron Technology and Wistron. These ODMs have been paying frequent visits to Lenovo's server purchasing department recently, hoping to build their relationship and secure future orders, the sources noted.

　　However, the sources believe related orders are unlikely to see any major changes within two years as the company will still need to provide after-sales maintenance services and vendors usually do not switch partners easily.

　　Lenovo announced in January plans to acquire a part of IBM's server businesses including x86-based System x, Blade Center and Flex System. With the acquisition, Lenovo's share in the server market is expected to rise from 2% currently to 14%.