Middle East and Africa x86 Server Market witnesses moderate growth

IDC's latest figures show the region's market for x86 servers expanded 1.22% in volume and 1.15% in value during the quarter.

In contrast to the prevalent trend seen in the Middle East and Africa, x86 server shipments to the GCC countries experienced double-digit growth of 14.3% year on year.

Oman recorded the highest growth among these countries, with a 180% increase in shipments year on year. Large deals were closed in the country's oil and gas sector, thereby contributing to this extraordinary triple-digit growth.

Other verticals such as education, banking, and telecomunications also contributed to the strong growth seen across the GCC region.

The North African market 'including Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia' experienced a significant slowdown in Q2 2012, with server shipments falling 14.6% year on year due to the ongoing political unrest and inflationary pressures in the region.

In South Africa, IDC observed that demand for server units stemmed primarily from the government and telecommunications verticals in Q2 2012. Despite this, the country recorded a 6.7% year-on-year decline in server shipments for the quarter.

"Telcos in South Africa are investing heavily in infrastructure to expand their datacenters in readiness for cloud-service delivery as demand for such servies starts to unfold in the country," says Faysal Ayoubi, a systems and infrastructure solutions research analyst at IDC Middle East, Africa, and Turkey.

"However, instability in the EU has sparked uncertainty, and as South Africa is closely aligned with this region, it is feeling the ripple effects, leading to an enhanced level of cautiousness being seen in the corporate space, especially within the finance and manufacturing verticals."

In vendor terms, HP topped the Middle East and Africa x86 server market in Q2 2012, dominating with 45.9% unit share. The vendor's rack-optimized form factor was the most significant contributor to this stellar performance. Dell ranked second with 19.5% share of the quarter's x86 server shipments, followed by IBM with 14.8% share.

In terms of x86-based form factor, shipments of tower servers grew 2.3% year on year, while shipments of the x86-based blades form factor fell 1.5%. Shipments of rack-optimized servers grew 1.8% over the same period, accounting for 46.8% share of the market.

Four-socket servers took a hit in Q2 2012, witnessing a decline in volume of 10.4% year on year, while two-socket servers remained the dominant socket capability, accounting for 63.9% unit share of the Middle East and Africa market.

"Although some countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Nigeria, and Algeria, experienced healthy growth in the second quarter of the year, the overall Middle East and Africa server market is still struggling as it feels the pressure of ongoing economic and political challenges across the region," says Ayoubi.

"However, we expect the market to gain momentum by the year' send to record double-digit growth in Q4 2012," he added.