IDC pessimistic on Itanium shipments

IDC expects Itanium server shipments to reach $7.5 billion in 2007, a drop from its previous forecast of $8.7 billion, the firm said Tuesday, but for the short term, it actually raised projections. The newest lowering of projections is dour news for the processor, which many once assumed would sweep the server world the same way Intel's "x86" processors have swept the desktop computer market. Over the years, IDC has lowered its Itanium forecasts several times. In 2000, it expected 2004 Itanium server sales to reach $28 billion.