According to the latest Technology Business Research (TBR) study - which focused on corporate IT buying behaviour and customer satisfaction - Lenovo emerged as number one in the rankings.
Lenovo is represented in southern Africa by leading ICT distributor, Pinnacle Micro, which acquired the South African operations of Tri Continental Distribution - one of IBM's and Lenovo's largest distributors in the region.
The report, which gave Lenovo the top ranking with a score of 82.10, puts it ahead of HP (81.70), Dell (81.50), Toshiba (80.70) and MPC/Gateway (80.50).
The report said: "Lenovo gained its big success in many aspects of Competitive Strengths and Weaknesses among the competitors. The study is based on interviews with qualified respondents at 684 medium and large US and Canadian companies. But, the TBR report stressed, the results are not USA-specific.
Pinnacle Micro, meanwhile, has announced that it surpassed its sales targets for the first quarter of the year, selling 13 000 units. The company will also commence selling the Lenovo range in Angola, adding to its activities that include countries such as Botswana and Malawi.
Pinnacle Micro is part of the JSE-listed Pinnacle Technology Holdings Group (PTH). Tim Humphreys-Davies, national and sales director at Pinnacle Micro, said Tri Continental had already been successfully assimilated into Pinnacle Micro's overall operations. "The assimilation has gone very well so far. We are very pleased with the overall integration - and with our sales. We really hit the ground running."
The acquisition of Tri Continental gives Pinnacle Micro - already one of the "Big Six" ICT distributors in South Africa - access to a wider product range, including the laptops from Lenovo/IBM. The laptop range is expected to augment the company's existing range of laptops.
IBM taking on too
Humphreys-Davies said IBM sales were also going extremely well. "We are now geared up to focus on IBM sales too. Despite the tough economic times, early indications are reassuring. We are expecting to exceed projections for the first six months of this year."
With more than 5 600 active dealers in southern Africa, the company has an extended geographical reach - including in Botswana and Namibia.
Besides its channel representation, the company is also established in the corporate, government, and retail markets.
Pinnacle Micro distributes on behalf of more than 37 companies, including brand names such as Logitech, Apacer, Western Digital, Canon, LG Electronics and Mio Technology.
PTH is anticipating a record year for the year ended June 2008.
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