Gartner describes the EMEA Q4 2014 server market results as "unremarkable" due to the combination of a strong US dollar and political/economical instability dampening market demand despite potential growth prospects.
Which growth prospects? The analyst points out install-base refresh, big data projects and cloud computing expansion. However Q4 2014 server shipments are down by -0.7% Y-o-Y, while revenues reach $3.6 billion with 1.2% Y-o-Y growth.
Overall 2014 sees shipments dropping by -2.5% while revenues grow by 2.1%.
"Although revenue growth was in low single digits, and server shipments were constrained, 2014 was a year where the market in EMEA returned to consistent growth," Gartner remarks. "We expect 2015 will exhibit a similar pattern of growth, however, the worsening currency effects related to a strong US dollar is likely to drive price increases and restricted spending in EMEA."
In the vendor rankings, HP continues to lead in Q4 2014 servers with 37.5% Q4 2014 market share and revenue growth reaching 9.9% Y-o-Y (despite shipments falling by -1.5%) thanks to strong modular server demand, replacement to the latest 9th generation platform and competitive growth. Dell follows with 19.1% Y-o-Y revenue growth, while IBM drops to 3rd place due to the divestment of x86 server operations to Lenovo.
"Without including x86 revenue, IBM's revenue would have declined by 14% in Q4 2014," the analyst says. "The weakness in IBM's top-line result is also due to System Z investment slowing in anticipation of the newest-generation mainframe products. After recent weak results, Power Systems' revenue grew marginally by 0.9% in Q4 2014 in EMEA. Power Systems represents IBM's growth strategy with key investments in PowerLinux and OpenPOWER."
On a global perspective Q4 2014 server shipments are up by 4.8% Y-o-Y while revenues grow by 2.2%. In overall 2014 shipments reach 2.2% grow, and revenues increase by 0.8%, results the analyst attributes to hyperscale datacentre deployments and service provider installations offsetting declines in both mainframe and Unix platforms.
Go Gartner Says WW Server Market Grew 4.8% in Shipments, While Revenues Increased 2.2% in Q4 2014
