Contrary to popular wisdom, it seems that PCs are making a comeback – although it is still early days, says Christopher Riley, the CEO of The Notebook Company.
“The PC market is still at risk, but some of the indications are that it is not yet time to declare the PC a dinosaur – there is something of a turnaround occurring in the marketplace, certainly in the Middle East and Africa,” he says.
According to data from the IDC, the PC market in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) expanded by 2,1% to reach 4,26-million units.
“IDC data shows that desktop shipments to MEA increased 3,6% year-on-year in Q3 2014 to total 1,73-million units, while shipments of portable PCs were up 1,1% over the same period to total 2,53-million units,” according to IDC.
The market is led by HP which posted gains of 14,4%, followed by Lenovo (58,2%) and Dell (23%).
“The market overcame ongoing instability in certain parts of the region to maintain its state of growth in Q3 2014,” says Fouad Rafiq Charakla, research manager for personal computing, systems, and infrastructure solutions at IDC Middle East, Turkey and Africa.
He concedes that mobile smart device growth continued its dominant trend in the region, but a huge deal in Pakistan for 150 000 notebooks and the relative stability in Egypt led to growth for PCs.
IDC data shows that the tablet market expanded by 29,6% in volume terms during the quarter to reach a total of 4,15-million units. “This obviously cements the fact that the tablet market is still going ahead full steam. It is unlikely the PC market will ever catch up – or show such robust sales numbers. But it is still an important market – and one that companies should not ignore too much,” comments Riley.