Industry news

Virtualisation 'boosted' EMEA factory shipments

Europe's enterprise server market posted increased revenues despite the current economic climate, one analyst has said.

IDC revealed first-quarter shipments for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) were up by 8.7 per cent from the same period last year, reaching $4.4 billion (£2.3 billion).

The analyst added that virtualisation was a key factor in the market's boom as firms searched for an increase in management and automation.

Beatriz Valle, research analyst at IDC, said the server market was immersed in a period of disruption but is showing "remarkable resilience" as processor technologies and form factors push virtualisation to the "forefront".

"Vendors are playing catch-up to sell solutions to the mid-market that exploit these technologies. Green computing will also be a segment to watch," she added.

Gartner revealed earlier in the year that virtualisation will become the most important trend for servers in coming years.

The analyst's research director John Enck predicts the market will mature in the next five years.