Why are server sales down in Europe?

EMEA server shipments have declined by 5.6 per cent during the second quarter of 2015, while server revenue contracted by 2.3 per cent.

According to analyst Gartner, shipments totalled $3.2 billion (£2.04 billion) during Q2 2015, dipping due to currency fluctuations and ongoing pressures within the sector.

Adrian O’Connell, research director at Gartner, said: "Following a resurgent start to the year, the second quarter marked a return to the decline in server shipments and revenue in EMEA.

"Ongoing economic pressures and currency-driven price increases from the strong US dollar combined to offset the server replacement cycle in EMEA."

Many vendors witnessed a decrease in sales, for example IBM, which held the third position in the second quarter of 2015. However, while its overall revenue was down year-on-year due to the divestiture of its x86 servers, its non-x86 platforms increased by 10 per cent.

O’Connell added: "The EMEA server market continues to be a sizable and important region for the vendors, but one in which vendors will have to maximise their efficiencies in order to thrive."

In comparison, during Q2 2015, worldwide server shipments grew by eight per cent year-on-year, while revenue increased by 7.2 per cent from Q2 2014.

Jeffrey Hewitt, research VP at Gartner, explained: "The second quarter year-on-year growth for 2015 slowed compared with the annual growth of the first quarter of the year.

“Currency exchange rate changes have started to show their impact by reducing relative spending power in regions like Western Europe.

“It is likely that in anticipation of further currency rate shifts that some organisations utilised their budgets earlier in the year rather than waiting until the third or fourth quarters, when their purchasing power may be further reduced by these relative currency changes.”

North America grew the most in terms of shipments, with a 14.8 per cent increase.

HP also maintained its number one position in the worldwide server market based on revenue with a 25.2 per cent market share. In addition, Lenovo also experienced its largest increase in Q2 2015 with a huge 526.5 per cent growth in revenue.

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