Server market enjoys strongest shipment growth since 2010

Worldwide server shipments grew 13 per cent year-on-year during Q1 2015, while revenues rose 17.9 per cent, according to analyst Gartner.

However, EMEA reported volume growth of just one per cent.

HP maintained its number one ranking in the worldwide server market based on revenue with 23.8 per cent market share during the quarter.

Lenovo experienced the largest increase with a whopping 658.2 per cent growth. All of the top five global vendors had revenue increases for the first quarter of 2015 except IBM. 

In terms of server shipments, HP remained the worldwide leader in the first quarter of 2015, but growth was flat. HP’s worldwide server shipment share was 20 per cent. All of the top five vendors experienced shipment increases in the first quarter of 2015, with Lenovo producing the largest growth rate of 239.2 percent. 

"The first quarter of 2015 was a particularly strong start to the year, with the strongest shipment growth since the third quarter of 2010, when the market was recovering from the downturn. It was also the second-largest-volume quarter ever," said Adrian O’Connell, research director at Gartner.

"The market was driven by particularly strong demand from the hyperscale area, which benefited North America in particular. This comes at a time when other regions are struggling, due to price pressure driven by the appreciation of the US dollar. The strength in North America was strong enough to offset declines in Latin America and Japan. EMEA was barely positive, with one per cent volume growth."

In other analyst news, IDC says smartphone shipments are expected to grow 11.3 per cent in 2015, which is down from 27.6 per cent in 2014.

IDC also claimed that large format printer shipments declined by less than one per cent year-on-year in Q1 2015, while revenue declined by almost three per cent.