The local PC market bears testament to the International Data Corporation's (IDC's) recent findings around the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, which recorded growth of 2.2% to reach 4.5 million units shipped.
This is according to a commentator, speaking after the IDC released its findings from the second quarter of 2014.
The research firm says both the desktop and portable product categories grew, with the former growing 2.9% year on year to reach 1.8 million units and the latter expanding 1.7% over the same period to total 2.7 million units.
Craig Brunsden, software and enterprise executive at Axizworkgroup, says although the IDC's data takes a broader look at developments across different regions, SA's PC market echoes the research firm's findings. "We have also noted an increase over the last few quarters, so we wouldn't say the PC is dead," he says.
According to Brundsen, PCs remain relevant to the local market due to big brands working hard to remain attractive, and South Africans continue to invest in upgrades.
Rest of Middle East
The IDC says the biggest growth in PC shipments was witnessed in the sub-region comprising Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Palestine, and Afghanistan, despite no vendors officially shipping PCs into these countries.
Fouad Rafiq Charakla, research manager at IDC, says the high volumes of devices seen entering that sub-region came via parallel imports through second- and third-tier resellers. "However, parts of this sub-region have recently witnessed increased levels of instability, particularly in Iraq, and demand is now forecast to slow down slightly as a result, although we don't expect these developments to prevent overall growth for 2014."
Other countries that gained in the second quarter included Saudi Arabia and emerging markets such as Pakistan and parts of Africa, adds Charakla. "The healthy shipments seen in most countries can either be attributed to a recovery from instability ? be it economic, political, or social ? or to previously low PC penetration rates. Bearing this in mind, Egypt and Nigeria are expected to be among the region's fastest growing PC markets for the year 2014."
Vendor battles
According to IDC, HP maintained the highest PC market share in the region during the second quarter of 2014. The vendor posted strong year-on-year growth of 26.1%, with the fastest growth seen in the consumer space.
In second place, Lenovo was the fastest growing multinational vendor in the MEA PC market, with shipments increasing 71.2% year-on-year. Similar to HP, the vendor's strong performance was primarily rooted in the consumer segment.
Dell was the third strongest, despite suffering a mild year-on-year decline of 3.3% following a weak performance in the consumer segment. Acer and Asus ranked fourth and fifth, with shipments rising 15.1% and 40.1% year on year, respectively.
The IDC expects the region's PC market to experience yet another quarter of year-on-year growth in the third quarter of this year, with shipments increasing 10.6% to total 4.6 million units. It also forecasts year-on-year growth for 2014 overall at 1.6%, although demand is expected to remain close to flat for the years 2015 and beyond.
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