This fall will mark the fourth consecutive quarter of year-on-year spending decline, and a deterioration of server sales in EMEA, which already recorded a 34.3 percent revenue decline in 1Q09.

IDC forecasts that the second quarter of 2009 will represent the peak of annual server declines in both revenue and units, with the number of boxes shipped standing at less than half a million, a decline of nearly 30 percent.

Nathaniel Martinez, program director, European Systems and Infrastructure Solutions, IDC, says: "In 1Q09, every sector of the economy felt the pressure of the global crisis, with most of the countries in Western Europe heading into recession and economies in Eastern Europe often paralyzed by the credit freeze. IDC has lowered its forecast expectations to reflect the full impact the deepening recession has had on the server market."

Beatriz Valle, research analyst, IDC European Server team, says: "The server market slowdown is taking different shapes and timeframes depending on the country, with the UK already severely hit, and continental countries following on that path. The second half of 2009 will continue to present annual falls, which will be more pronounced in revenue than in shipments due to a general trend of lowering ASVs that pre-dated the current downturn."

"Revenue declines will gradually soften during the next four quarters, but positive revenue growth will not return to the EMEA server market until the third quarter of 2010, with revenue bottoming out in the first quarter of 2010 at $2.6 billion. IDC believes buyer interest will resume this autumn and that green shoots will be evident from the second half of 2009, albeit modest," Valle adds.

x86 revenue is anticipated to fare slightly better than the rest of the market , with revenue falls back to single digits by 1Q10, largely due to demand for blade servers and consolidated infrastructures.

EMEA Server Revenue and Year-Over-Year Growth Forecast, 2008–2013

Revenue in $M