Notebooks for SMEs rescue PC market

Impressive year-on-year growth, according to analyst figures

The notebook assault on the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) fortress has saved the PC market in EMEA with impressive year-on-year growth, according to the latest research from analyst IDC.

Overall notebook shipments in EMEA reached 2.9 million units, an increase of 19.5 per cent on 2001. This compared with 9.4 million units of desktops sold in 2002, a decline of 0.7 per cent.

IDC analyst Andy Brown said: "The SME market has been the most dynamic area for the past two years and particularly over the past year. This has offset the slowdown in the corporate market.

"The fact that the price of notebooks has come down and is comparable to desktops has meant that in some cases they are replacing desktops."

Reseller Compusys, which sells Toshiba, Samsung and Fujitsu Siemens notebooks, has given notebooks top ranking. "This market has been fantastic for us over the past 12 months," said Gordon Davies, the VAR's commercial director.

As for vendors, Acer is the biggest success story, rising to second place from fourth in terms of market share. Dell has been demoted to fourth from third.

Acer's strong play in the channel has contributed significantly to its success, according to Brown. "Acer was the top-performing notebook vendor in the fourth quarter of 2002, and this had a lot to do with its strong reseller and retail relationships," he added.

IDC has also predicted the EMEA PC market will grow by 4.7 per cent in 2003, compared with 1.8 per cent last year, and notebooks will continue to lead the way.

"The growth rate in desktops will improve but very slowly and will not nearly match the dynamics of the notebook market," said Brown.