Global server sales put in a "lacklustre" performance evidenced by a 1.9 per cent year-over-year decline to $11.9bn in the first quarter of 2006, according to IDC's latest Worldwide Quarterly Server Tracker.

The analyst firm said that, following 10 successive quarters of year-over-year revenue growth, this was the second consecutive quarter of annual revenue decline.

However, amid all the doom and gloom, Linux servers posted their 15th consecutive quarter of double-digit growth, with year-over-year revenue growth of 17 per cent and unit shipments up 14.4 per cent.

Although IDC noted that Linux servers now represent 12.2 per cent of all server revenues, growth for the quarter was approximately half that seen in the first quarter of 2005 as the market grows and year-over-year comparisons become more difficult.

"After three years of consistent growth, the server market began to show signs of deceleration in the first quarter," said Matt Eastwood, programme vice president of worldwide server research at IDC.

"Although customers continued to invest in new infrastructure in the quarter, IT spending patterns are evolving and these shifts are clearly having an impact on the server market.

"IDC continues to see IT managers in the data centre working to strategically align the IT organisation with the business.

"Meanwhile, IT executives are focusing on condensing their IT infrastructure to deliver new IT services and enhance existing service levels while holding the line with respect to IT budgets and staffing levels."