Softpedia >News >Technology & Gadgets
Softpedia Homepage   

Worldwide Server Sales Record First Decline Since 2002

According to a recent IDC report

Dec 4, 2008 12:39 GMT  ·  By
Server market records low sales
   Server market records low sales

 

It appears that the consumer PC market is not the only segment affected by the worldwide financial turmoil, as the IDC has just posted the latest figures of its Worldwide Quarterly Server Tracker. According to the research firm, the factory revenues in the worldwide server market have declined by 5.2% on year to US$12.6 billion in the third quarter of 2008.

 

The report indicates that this is actually the lowest quarterly revenue since the fourth quarter of 2002, a fact that is mostly due to slower spending around the world. Also, sever units growth of 2.8% on year in the third quarter of 2008 represents the slowest increase in server shipments since the Q4 of 2006.

 

 “The server market experienced significant deceleration in the third quarter with particular weakness in September. The slowdown impacted a wide range of traditional server technologies with improved demand for blades and IBM System z notable exceptions,” said Matt Eastwood, group vice president of Enterprise Platforms at IDC. “Many OEMs experienced significant pricing challenges in the quarter and revenues declines were experienced in all regions except Latin America and the Middle East and Africa (MEA). Enterprise budgets continue to face increased scrutiny as IT organizations of all types look to run their hardware harder and defer acquisitions wherever possible.”

 

According to the IDC, volume systems revenues went down by 7.2% on year in the third quarter, which represents the first decline for this market segment in more than 14 quarters. Revenues for the mid-range enterprise servers declined 9.5% on year, while high-end enterprise servers are reported to have grown 4% on year, representing the third consecutive quarter of growth for the segment.

 

Apparently, HP and IBM, despite having both seen a decline in server revenue, managed to keep the market leadership, with very similar market sharers. While HP claimed the number one spot, with 30.7 percent of the market and $3.86 billion in sales, IBM came in second, with 30.2 percent and $3.8 billion in sales.