“It isn’t easy selling non-x86 equipment these days. According
to IDC, that side of the server market has had five quarters in a
row of decline — while at the same time the x86 segment is picking
up. On the IBM side, sales weren’t helped by the fact that users
were waiting for a new line of products.“”IBM experienced weakness in its Power Systems and System z
servers as customers waited for the completion of a product refresh
cycle for both product sets,” said IDC analyst Jean Bozman.“The release of the Power7 processor this year was accompanied
by a new line of Power servers, which are broken out in the table
at the end of this article. Now that these are on the market, IBM
Power sales should pick up.“But another factor may have been influencing sales. Two years
ago, IBM brought its System i and p product lines under the IBM
Power Systems umbrella.”