But Middle East continues to grow, says IDC
The server market in the UAE declined along with Saudi Arabia and Turkey in the third quarter this year but the Middle East as whole is witnessing increase in IT investment in the aftermath of global financial malaise.
According to Senior Research Analyst Jiri Helebrand, IDC CEMA: "The server market was driven by demand in both the public sector and the large-enterprise end-user segment. After the slowdown witnessed during the crisis, investment in IT is returning, and we expect it to continue in the coming quarters. Contrary to the situation in CEE, only two countries recorded double-digit growth in MEA; the markets in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and UAE all declined."
According to International Data Corporation's (IDC) EMEA Quarterly Server Tracker, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) server revenue in the third quarter of 2010 reached $3.1 billion, up 6.4 per cent on the same quarter last year. The number of servers shipped was up 10.2 per cent year on year after nearly 550,000 were sold. The strong results, with shipment volume back to double-digit growth, and revenue growth also significant, must be read in the context of a very weak third quarter last year, favoring year-to-date comparisons. When looking at revenue in absolute terms, it becomes apparent that the server market results are a long way from the peak seen in the fourth quarter of 2007, when revenue reached $5.4 billion.
"The EMEA server revenue growth is a positive indicator that the market is gaining traction and benefitting from refreshment activity in the hardware area. Banks and to a lesser degree insurance companies are currently engaged in server refreshes and adding new server capacity," said Beatriz Valle, senior research analyst in the Enterprise Server Group for IDC EMEA. "Server spending in the government segment remains healthy in France and Germany, although it is contracting in the UK and Italy. In the SMB segment, virtualization deployments are gaining steam."
Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (CEMA) recorded year-on-year growth of 14.6 per cent in value and 17.9 per cent in volume in third quarter this year from shipments of 147,000 units worth $743.50 million. Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) recorded the highest growth due to market recovery across most countries in the region. Revenue in CEE reached $383 million, representing 27.8 per cent year-on-year growth. In contrast, the growth rate for the Middle East and Africa (MEA) was only 3.3 per cent year on year, with the market value rising to $360.5 million.
© Emirates 24|7 2010
