The outlook of the server industry at the end of 2012 was pretty dreary. Increased competition from new players, strong competition from start-ups and growth in the DIY sector all made a dent in shipments and revenues.
In addition, RISC and Itanium vendors, plus IBM, were in the middle of product transitions. At the time, several new processors were on the verge of being introduced, which might have resulted in some hesitation from OS customers. As a result, 3Q2012 ended with a small 3.6% increase in shipments while revenues fell by 2.8% to $12.6 billion.
