According to IDC, Europe Middle East and Africa (EMEA) market displayed flat growth in 3Q11, with revenue of $3.2bn, up 0.6% annually.
Server shipments were 546,883, 1% less than in the same quarter last year. Revenue performance in the Western European subregion was below the EMEA average, with server sales down 1.4% annually.
Falling Western European revenue share of the overall EMEA server market, which generated 74.8% of total sales, is the smallest percentage since IDC records began. IDC is of the belief that the current fluctuations of the exchange rate as the euro devaluates in the currency markets and more specifically against the dollar had a significant effect on server system revenue in Western Europe.
Growth was muted in France and the UK growing by1.6% and 2.1%, respectively, while Germany recorded a slight decline in revenue of 3.6% year on year. By technology, x86 servers were the main market drivers, with revenue reaching $2.3bn, up 3.5% year on year, and unit growth flat (down 0.7%). 98.3% of all servers shipped were x86 systems. Non-x86 server revenue declined by 6.5% annually after sales fell short of the $1bn mark at $875.5m. Unit shipments were duller, as they fell 3.9% annually with just above 9,000 servers shipped.
IDC senior research analyst in the Enterprise Server Group for EMEA Beatriz Valle said the server market was displaying signs of deceleration as macroeconomic conditions worsen worldwide, despite a very strong second quarter that exhibited the fastest rate of annual growth in seven years.
