Lenovo server sales rocket 12,000 per cent in Q4

Chinese giant grabs almost 10 per cent market share after IBM deal got green light

Lenovo has gobbled up a near 10 per cent share of the EMEA server market since the IBM x86 deal closed in Q4, leading sales to skyrocket a whopping 12,000 per cent annually.

In the fourth quarter of 2013, Lenovo had just 0.1 per cent share of the EMEA server market, but a year later, that figure jumped to 9.58 per cent. In Q4, Lenovo's deal to acquire IBM's x86 server business went through and the switchover in the UK happened this January.

Over the same period, Lenovo's EMEA server revenue jumped from $2.92m (£1.97m) to $354.26m – a boost of a massive 12,000 per cent.

At the same time, IBM's server sales fell by more than half – 52.32 per cent – prompting its market share to drop from 27.3 per cent in 2013's Q4 to 12.88 per cent last quarter.

Overall in the final quarter of last year, revenue across the EMEA server market grew 1.2 per cent year on year to $3.7bn and shipments reached 630,000 – up 4.4 per cent over the same period. It is the first time both figures have grown in three years.

But IDC said currency fluctuations could stunt the market in the coming quarters.

"As macroeconomics in western Europe continue along the path of slow, tiresome recovery, we believe a key factor impacting spending and prices in the first half of 2015 will be currency," said Giorgio Nebuloni, associate research director with IDC EMEA.

"Strong dollar appreciation is playing a role in setting local currency selling prices. If this continues through the course of the year, IDC believes there is a potential downside on discretionary spending, especially in SMB environments."