PC sales boom as prices fall
A report by research group BMI-Techknowledge says sales of desktop computers in the first quarter of 2004 increased by 51.9% compared to the same period in 2003. And as business confidence increases, there are signs that the new PC market will grow even more.
BMI-Techknowledge says a drop in the price of new PCs was one of the key factors in the pick up in sales, while attractive bundles promoting home digital entertainment fuelled overall desktop growth. Its research reveals a year-on-year growth in unit terms of 19.3%. In terms of value, the market declined 7.7%.
Laurika Möller, ICT analyst and author of the report, said that in the fourth quarter of 2003, servers showed positive growth of 79.5%.
"The growth in the x86 server segments is a result of HP's positive growth in their entry-level products, while IBM and Dell also showed growth of 110% and 70.6% respectively," said Möller.
The report says the PC replacement cycle for businesses is still a drawn-out process, and most businesses, especially large enterprises, are still very cautious about IT spending.
"Considering that the major corporate renewal wave was prior to 2000, and the lifecycle of PCs has been stretched from three to four years, we should expect roll-outs to accelerate throughout the year 2004, and even into 2005, as business confidence restores," Moller said.
SouthAfrica.info reporter
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