The global server shipments grew 3.6 per cent in the third quarter of 2012, while revenues fell 2.8 per cent on a year-on-year basis. Revenues of four of the top five global vendors also fell during the quarter, according to study by research and advisory firm Gartner.

Dell was the only vendor among the top five to have its revenue increase in the third quarter. IBM had the lead for the quarter in the worldwide server market based on revenue - the company posted $3.5 billion in server vendor revenue for a total share of 27.6 percent. IBM’s revenue was down 9.5 per cent year-on-year.

“The third quarter of 2012 again produced shipment growth on a worldwide level, but server revenue was weak due to ongoing economic weakness and market segment differences,” said Jeffrey Hewitt, research vice president at Gartner.

“Only the North America and Asia-Pacific regions managed any revenue growth, and even those were essentially flat year to year, with North America showing a 1.1 per cent increase and Asia-Pacific a 0.7 per cent increase. The picture in terms of shipments was slightly more positive with North America, Latin America and Asia-Pacific all growing, but both EMEA and Japan continue to struggle and both saw shipments contract, compared to the same period last year,” Hewitt added.

x86 server shipments grew 4.3 per cent in the third quarter of 2012, and revenue increased 4 per cent from the third quarter of 2011, he added.

In server shipments, HP remained the global leader in the third quarter of 2012 in spite of an 8.4 per cent decrease in shipments for the quarter. This decline was driven primarily by declining revenue in HP’s ProLiant and Integrity brands. HP’s worldwide server shipment share was 25.8 percent.

rajesh.kurup@thehindu.co.in

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