Despite shipments falling 17 per cent and revenue dropping 15 per cent, the global server market seems to be stabilising, according to analyst Gartner.

Gartner research vice president Jeffrey Hewitt said that despite the yearly declines, the third-quarter results were more promising.

Hewitt said: "There was a 13.8 per cent increase in shipments and 10.2 per cent in revenue compared with the second quarter. This suggests that the market is showing signs of stabilisation as we move towards the end of 2009.”

Gartner senior research analyst Errol Rasit said that the EMEA server sector grew sequentially by seven per cent compared with the last quarter. Rasit said this was the largest second-to-third-quarter growth since 1998.

"However, the market was still constrained this year as virtualisation remained key to increasing efficiency and reducing server spend. The server market showed a double-digit year-on-year decline in the third quarter of 2009,” added Rasit.

EMEA server shipments totalled 526,000 units in the third quarter of 2009, dropping 22.9 per cent year on year, while revenue totalled $3bn (£1.8bn) in the same quarter, declining 22.8 per cent on third-quarter 2008.

HP led the EMEA market, in terms of both revenue and shipments, according to Gartner's figures. Globally, IBM led in revenue while HP led in shipments.

Rasit said: "As 2009 draws to a close, the outlook for the fourth-quarter EMEA server market is for slightly improved results sequentially, increasing the likelihood of a return to growth in 2010.”