According to IHS the UPS market H1 2015 records the worst half-year results in 5 years as revenues drop by -8.7% Y-o-Y, in part due to unfavourable comparisons to a "relatively good" 2014.
Last year involved the closing of several large UPS deals while 2015 does not, leading to big vendors struggling to achieve positive revenue growth. Fluctuating currency exchange rates also affect the market, since local market sizes get artificially deflated when reported on in US dollar.
Another factor involves the increasing use of colocation datacentres-- a trend the analyst says leads to decreasing UPS shipments for use in small- and medium-size datacentres and server rooms.
"The latest research on the UPS market indicates that an increasing proportion of enterprises are opting to use colocation data centers rather than invest in proprietary facilities. A consequence of this trend is that fewer new data centers and server rooms are being built, resulting in a net decrease in demand for UPS solutions," IHS says. "While other factors are at play, such as a fluctuating exchange rates and more adverse economic conditions than previously forecast for 2015, it is likely that the considerable drop in growth of the UPS market in H1 2015 is at least partly a consequence of the increased use of colocation data centers.”
The analyst does have some good news for H2 2015, mind-- historic trends show the H2 market growing by an average of 9% over H1. As a result, IHS says H2 2015 revenues worth around $5 billion, with overall 2015 revenues reaching $9.6bn, a -8.3% decrease from 2014.
