STAMFORD, CT -- Fourth quarter worldwide server shipments increased 4.8% year-over-year while revenue grew 2.2%, according to Gartner.

 In all of 2014, worldwide server shipments grew 2.2%, and server revenue increased 0.8%.

"There were several factors that produced the strong growth in the server market in 2014," said Jeffrey Hewitt, research vice president at Gartner. "On a worldwide basis, hyperscale data center deployments as well as service provider installations drove the x86-based server market upward. Enterprises had less unit growth impact because of the ongoing presence of physical server consolidation through x86-server virtualization. This overall market growth developed despite declines in both mainframe and Unix platforms." 

The fourth quarter saw the Middle East and Africa grow the fastest, at 10.7%, followed by Asia/Pacific (9.1%) and North America (7.6%). 

HP led the worldwide server market based on revenue in the fourth quarter of 2014 (TABLE 1), but grew 1.5% year-over-year. The company ended the year with $3.9 billion in revenue for a total share of 27.9% worldwide. IBM experienced a decline of 50.6% while Lenovo experienced growth of 743.4%. The significant changes in IBM's and Lenovo's growth rates are due to the completion of the sale of IBM's x86 server business to Lenovo in the fourth quarter.   

Table 1. Worldwide: Server Vendor Revenue Estimates, 4Q14 (U.S. Dollars)

Note: Lenovo’s Q414 results include IBM x86 sales. IBM’s Q414 results include only non x86 servers.

Source: Gartner (March 2015) 

In server shipments, HP remained the worldwide leader for the fourth quarter of 2014, even as its shipments declined 11% (TABLE 2). HP’s revenue increase compared with its shipment decline suggests a shift to sales of servers with richer configurations and relatively higher average selling prices to continue to support server consolidation through virtualization, in addition to a tough comparison when the company had large hyperscale deals a year ago.  

Table 2. Worldwide: Server Vendor Shipments Estimates, 4Q14 units)

Note: Lenovo’s Q414 results include IBM x86 sales. IBM’s Q414 results include only non x86 servers.

Source: Gartner (March 2015) 

x86 server demand increased in shipments by 5.1% and revenue by 8.2% for the fourth quarter of 2014. 

2014 was a relatively moderate growth year in the server market with overall increases of 2.2 percent in shipments and 0.8 percent in revenue. x86 servers continue to be the predominant platform used for large-scale data center buildouts across the globe, and the growth of integrated systems, while still relatively small as an overall percentage of the hardware infrastructure market, also provided some growth contribution to the x86 server space for the year. The outlook for 2015 suggests that modest growth will continue in the server space on the whole. 

In Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), server shipments in the fourth quarter declined 0.7%, while server revenue grew 1.2% to $3.6 billion. In 2014, server shipments declined 2.5% and server revenue grew 2.1%. 

"Despite considerable market pressures, the fourth-quarter server results in EMEA were unremarkable," said Errol Rasit, research director at Gartner. "The region saw growth prospects related to installed-base refresh, big data projects and cloud computing expansion; however, political and economic instability, combined with U.S. dollar strength, dampened market demand in EMEA." 

In the quarter, HP extended its revenue share lead in EMEA with 10% growth (TABLE 3) despite a 1.5% decline in server shipments (see Table 4). HP's strong performance in the quarter came from strong demand for modular servers, replacement demand due to the latest ninth-generation platforms, and competitive growth. 

For the second consecutive quarter, Dell held the second spot in EMEA as IBM's divestment of x86 servers to Lenovo reduced IBM's position to third. Dell recorded a 19% revenue growth. The growth was attributed to ongoing channel improvements, and strong sales execution. Dell also benefited from 13th-generation platform replacement activity. 

Third-place IBM declined 57% as it suffered from a tough quarter compared with a year ago when System X revenue contributed to its total. 

"Without including x86 revenue, IBM's revenue would have declined 14% in the quarter," said Rasit. "The weakness in IBM's topline result is also due to System Z investment slowing in anticipation of the newest-generation mainframe products. After recent weak results, Power Systems' revenue grew marginally by 0.9% in the fourth quarter in EMEA. Power Systems represents IBM's growth strategy with key investments in PowerLinux and OpenPOWER."

Table 3. EMEA: Server Vendor Revenue Estimates, 4Q14 ($US)                                               

Note: Lenovo’s Q414 results include IBM x86 sales. IBM’s Q414 results include only non x86 servers.

Source: Gartner (March 2015) 

Table 4.  EMEA: Server Shipment Estimates, 4Q14 (Units)                                                                                   

Note: Lenovo’s Q414 results include IBM x86 sales. IBM’s Q414 results include only non x86 servers.

Source: Gartner (March 2015) 

"Although revenue growth was in low single digits, and server shipments were constrained, 2014 was a year where the market in EMEA returned to consistent growth," said Rasit. "We expect 2015 will exhibit a similar pattern of growth, however, the worsening currency effects related to a strong US dollar is likely to drive price increases and restricted spending in EMEA." 

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