First, let's talk about "decline":

Worldwide server unit shipment growth slowed modestly to 9.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2006 when compared with the year-ago period.

So sales are still growing, just not as quickly. In the language of Wall Street, that's a decline. Stupid.[1]


But, to the extent the numbers may be meaningful:

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.

They're mixing unite sales, revenue growth, and market share numbers, making it very hard to get a bead on what they're saying. They're also not clear on whether "Linux server" means a piece of hardware pre-installed with Linux, a piece of hardware that the buyer says will be getting Linux on it, or a Linux license from Red Hat or some other vendor. If, like the desktop world, some servers come pre-installed with some version of Windows, but the box gets wiped and Linux installed, how is that counted? What about decommissioned Windows boxes that, instead of getting replaced with new Windows boxes, get Linux installed and re-enter useful life?

Someone may be asking the right questions and doing good studies, but I don't see enough detail in this article to draw any useful conclusions.



[1] And don't bother quoting the economic theory that makes this not stupid. Because that theory would be bullshit.[2]

[2] "Prove" me wrong. I don't care.