Despite the global sales dip in the PC market, vendors operating in emerging markets continue to thrive.
So says David Drummond, VP Middle East and Africa and southern Africa country manager for Acer.
"The global economic downturn did not harm PC sales in emerging markets substantially; Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia showed strong growth in 2007, which continues to this day. In Algeria alone, the market is worth around $100 million. Global vendors are starting to prioritise these markets," he says.
Drummond notes that even with increased mobile penetration across the continent, PC sales in regions such as Angola, Ghana, Kenya and Algeria continue to increase.
"This is due to vendors in these regions realising the importance of rebuilding their share to upward levels that they've recorded before, so if traditionally 18% of your share came from the small enterprise space, government departments, corporate and commercial space, it means you know what to do to get that back," explains Drummond.
PCs perform strongly in vertical markets in these areas; they also serve as an entry point into other African markets starting off from a lower base.
"Whatever issues of profitability experienced by western vendors, where the PC is fighting a losing battle against tablets, iPads and other devices, for most end-users on the African continent, owning a PC adds another layer to their technology access - it's still meaningful," Drummond adds.
Drummond also highlights the partnership ecosystem as another aspect that has always made the PC a dominant platform.
"It's not a verticalised market like Apple, where you buy everything from a single vendor; with the PC, there's value for the different partners in the ecosystem - you can buy a printer from Canon, IBM servers or an operating system from Microsoft; the thread even includes your neighbourhood PC dealers - this is what has made the PC market sustainable on the continent as well."
Unlike the rest of the continent, with issues such as lack of technical support, reliable electricity and bandwidth still an obstacle, SA has, over the last 10 years, been on a more mature curve, according to Drummond.
"SA is well ahead in that we have more PC distribution channels with a number of outlets, resellers and service providers emerging in the country. This makes it easier for consumers to access different PC brands. We are also selling to CIOs and companies."
He concludes that with continued improvements in emerging markets' infrastructure, up-scaling of Internet access, new schools being built, small enterprises emerging, and healthcare and education needs, the PC's demand in these markets won't halt for the foreseeable future.
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