Server sales suffer

However, a worldwide decline of 30% in server sales over the same period means that Western Europe compares favourably, with a drop of 21%.

"US-based global vendors have been suffering from a downturn in their home market for some time and have been unable to address the greater demand for servers in Europe," said Martin Hingley, VP of IDC's European systems group. "Internal organisational issues and global scale economies have taken precedence over sales development for many."

Standard Intel Architecture Servers (SIAS) saw a small decline of under 1% in unit terms sequentially over Q3 2001. The rankings of the top five vendors remained the same, with Compaq maintaining its lead, despite the news of HP's intention to acquire it. However, the market saw revenue decline exceed unit decline sharply, according to IDC manager Thomas Meyer.

"Vendors must realise that alternative routes to gaining market share need to be considered and explored as the effectiveness of price reductions as a competitive tool decreases," he said.