Local IT research house BMI-TechKnowledge has released its PC Quarterly Tracker report, which reflects a "rocky" period for the PC market since the World Trade Centre attacks in September.
According to the report, sales picked up in July and August, but the September attacks caused a slump in the market. The proposed HP/Compaq merger has also promoted a cautious attitude among business buyers.
"There has been a certain amount of tentativeness in the market since the announcement of the HP/Compaq merger; organisations are adopting a wait-and-see attitude," says Chantel Mann, BMI-T analyst. "Another inhibiting factor has been the decline of consumer and business confidence over the last quarter."
Siltek`s liquidation and the knock-on effect of the 11 September tragedy are expected to affect sales in October, but positive growth is still expected over last year`s PC sales.
Meanwhile, the International Data Corporation (IDC) predicts total worldwide IT spend to increase by only 1% this year, compared with 12% growth in 2000, partially due to the 11 September disaster.
"The `perfect storm` of 2001 has caused an unprecedented decline in IT spending around the world, particularly in the US," says John Gantz, IDC chief research officer. "Hardware shipments have suffered most dramatically, as is always the case in an economic slowdown. This year, due to other factors, things have been even worse than anyone predicted.
"This is no longer just a US story," Gantz says. "This is a worldwide slowdown, impacting vendors in every region."
IDC has dubbed 2001 as "the worst year on record for the computer hardware industry".
The international researcher predicts that in 2002 worldwide IT growth will recover slowly to 5.5% by year-end. Software spending will recover to the strong growth rates of previous years, driven by investment in e-business and other leading solution areas. IT services remain the bastion of the IT industry, recording 9% growth worldwide this year despite the industry slowdown.
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