Gartner reports "mixed results" for the global server market, with Q4 2011 server revenues dropping by -5.4% while shipments increase by 4.5% Y-o-Y.
The reason? HDD inventory shortages due to the October 2011 Thailand flooding disasters, as many providers were not able to meet demand during the last weeks of 2011. Gartner expects HDD supply issues to continue into Q1 2012.
However the continues W. European server market showing further drops in Q4 2011 shipments, with a -3.1% decline. Q4 2011 EMEA shipments total 700755 units (a -0.8% Y-o-Y decline) while revenues total $4.1BN (-4.6% Y-o-Y decline).
"...The EMEA server market suffered a second consecutive decline in the fourth quarter, this time with both units and revenue declining," Gartner says. W. Europe remains the weakest territory (with -8% Y-o-Y declines in revenues) even as E. Europe, M. East and Africa show growth.
Overall 2011 EMEA server revenues grow by 5% Y-o-Y, with a 3.3% Y-o-Y increase in shipments.
The analyst says Q4 2011 shows "mixed results in the key segments"-- x86 revenues are flat (with 0.6% growth), RISC/Itanium/UNIX systems decline by -3.9% and the highly cyclical "Other CPU" category is down by -20.9%.
When it comes to EMEA vendors, only Dell and Oracle (ranking 3rd and 4th respectively) achieve revenue growth during Q4 2011. HP remains on top, even if with a -10.9% Y-o-Y decline. IBM is 2nd, with revenues dropping by -8.2% due to cyclical weakness in the System z product line.
The analyst predict some growth in the x86 segment during 2012, as the segment should be going through a replacement cycle.
"With a weak economic backdrop expected to persist throughout 2012, server vendors are likely to continue facing difficult market conditions over the next few quarters," Gartner concludes.
