Thin times for thin client market

EMEA shipments of thin clients have hit a five-year low after dropping for a third consecutive quarter, according to IDC

The EMEA thin client market has hit a five-year low after it was hampered by the continuing euro depreciation against the US dollar, according to IDC.

For Q2 2015, thin clients shipments reached 385,000 units, down 17.7 per cent year on year, as the market declined for the third quarter in a row. This was the lowest volume of shipments for five years, the analyst said.

This fall in the market was driven by a poor performance in western Europe, where the analyst noted the decline was worse than during the financial crisis in 2009, with shipments dropping 19.2 per cent year on year.

"Despite low oil prices, the fragile economic growth in the euro zone was not able to provide sufficient additional incentive for IT hardware upgrades or new purchases," IDC said.

Oleg Sidorkin, senior research analyst at IDC, said: "A severe demand contraction in western Europe exacerbated by almost one year of continuous euro depreciation against the US dollar, hurt thin client imports and delayed market recovery.

"As euro rates levelled out after a new valley in Q2 2015, we expect to see single-digit growth in western Europe in the last quarter of 2015."

IDC also expects the market in central and eastern Europe (CEE) to be hindered by the drop in value of the Russian ruble. The analyst predicts the market to fall for the next three quarters in CEE and recovery is not expected until Q2 2016.