According to Gartner EMEA Q2 2014 server shipments show growth for the first time in 11 quarters-- specifically by 0.8% Y-o-Y. Revenues are also up by (by 3.8% Y-o-Y) following 10 consecutive quarters of decline.
Shipments for the quarter total 554813 units, while revenues reach $3.2 billion.
“Q2 2014 marks a key milestone in the server market for many vendors, as both shipments and revenue grew for the first time since this period in 2011,” the analyst says. “Despite the steady improvement in the server market, these positive results highlight the end of a slump, rather than a return to growth. Server providers must continue to ensure that a focus on growth remains a top priority.”
HP leads the Q2 2014 server revenue rankings with 7.3% growth, even shipments decline by -5.2% Y-o-Y as due to lack of EMEA hyperscale demand. IBM comes second with single-digit x86 growth, with top level results suffering due to a cyclical mainframe sale low point and ongoing RISC system weakness.
Dell follows with 13.5% revenue growth and 5.5% shipment growth.
On a regional perspective W. Europe sees 23.6% shipment growth and 1.3% revenue growth, while MEA shipments and revenues grow by 2.5% and 6% respectively. Only E. Europe records declines of -1.6% and -5.6%.
When it comes to server technologies, EMEA x86 server revenues are up by 12.7%, RISC/Itanium UNIX revenues drop by -23.6% and "Other CPU" revenues fall by -17.8%.
“It’s not surprising to see the x86 segment driving growth in EMEA, however double digit declines in the RISC and Itanium Unix segments were weaker than expected, highlighting ongoing instability,” Gartner concludes.