Notebook sales growth is anticipated to outpace the sales growth of desktop PCs next year, says electronics group Fujitsu Siemens Computers, but PC sales are expected to remain strong in the corporate space.
Speaking to ITWeb on the sidelines of the CeBIT 2006 ICT trade fair in Germany, Andreas Thimmel, Fujitsu Siemens vice-president: business clients, said that some 72% of companies worldwide had implemented mobile solutions. This trend is driven by the need for data access any time and anywhere, improved productivity, and access to relevant applications with clients.
Currently, the company`s biggest revenue drivers are business PCs, notebooks and TFT displays, but notebook sales are accelerating rapidly, Thimmel comments.
He points out, however, that desktop PCs are not expected to be phased out quickly, as many corporates still have office-bound staff, not requiring mobility. He says another factor keeping the PC market alive in this space is security, as many companies perceive it as safer for information to remain onsite.
Solution-driven
In total, Thimmel says, the company`s business PC sales are expected to grow by 10% to 15% in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region next year, while notebook sales are seen as surging by more than 30%.
However, to meet the demand of the expanding notebook market, Fujitsu Siemens is moving away from "tick-sheet" features and is producing offerings that are solution-driven, Thimmel adds.
At CeBIT, the company launched a new range of Lifebook notebooks, which feature embedded UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) for high-speed wireless connectivity anywhere. Described as a lightweight high-performance product, Fujitsu Siemens says the Lifebook series is specifically designed for and aimed at executives.
Meanwhile, Thimmel anticipates that, while Germany remains the group`s biggest market - generating some 35% of total revenue - the biggest revenue growth will be seen in the Eastern and central Europe, with the entire EMEA region expected to grow by some 30% to 50% with in the short term.
Slow penetration
In this region, he says, Russia is seen as a large expanding market, as penetration by global ICT players has been slow in that country thus far.
"These areas are also increasingly starting to rely on importers and local assemblers are shrinking. As part of our strategy, we complemented our portfolio with products that will allow us to compete in entry-price markets.
Notebook sales are also driving the South African market, as ICT market analysts BMI-TechKnowledge recently released its "South African Personal Computer Quarterly Tracker Q4 2005", which found that the local PC market experienced double-digit growth last year.
"Notebooks continued to drive overall market growth, recording a robust 36.9% in 2005. Consumer demand was unabated, assisted by aggressive promotions in the retail channel, while portable adoption in the SMB space also continued at an accelerated pace.
"Notebooks remained a major focus for all vendors across both consumer and business channels, and the attractive promotions clearly helped to boost demand," the report states.
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