Global server shipments grew 3.6% in Q3, says Gartner

North America grew the most in shipments, with a 7.4% increase and posted the highest vendor revenue growth at 1.1% during the period

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Global server shipments for the third quarter of 2012 witnessed a year-on-year growth of around 3.6%, while the server revenues dropped 2.8%.

The revenues of the top four players also witnessed a decrease in the third quarter when compared to the same period last year.

According to a study by the global technology advisory firm Gartner, Dell was the only vendor among the top five to have its revenue increase in the third quarter.

On a regional standpoint, North America grew the most in shipments, with a 7.4% increase and also posted the highest vendor revenue growth at 1.1% during the period.

"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, Gartner.

The advisory firm also said only North America and Asia/Pacific regions managed a flat revenue growth, with North America showing a 1.1% increase and Asia/Pacific a 0.7% increase.

In server shipments, HP remained the global leader in the third quarter of 2012 in spite of an 8.4% decrease in shipments for the quarter.

Another major player in the market, IBM had the lead for the quarter in the server market, the company posted $3.5 billion in server vendor revenue for a total share of 27.6%. IBM’s revenue was down 9.5% year-on-year.

In Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), server shipments totaled almost 590,000 units in the third quarter of 2012, down 2.8% from the same period of 2011, Gartner said.