The Hindu Business Line : `Consumer, small, medium segments to drive PC market'

Bangalore March 22 E-governance is expected to propel the Indian PC market this year. The shipments are set to grow by 20 per cent according to the latest forecast by analyst firm Gartner.

"The consumer and the small and medium business (SMB) segments will be the major drivers of the Indian market.

"High demand for mobile PCs bolstered the growth, overtaking sales in the desk-based segment. In addition, with a greater focus given to e-governance, the Government spend is expected to propel the market further north," said Mr Diptarup Chakraborti, principal analyst at Gartner India.

Worldwide PC shipments are forecast to total 255.7 million units in 2007, a 10.5 per cent increase from 2006. Worldwide PC revenue is projected to reach $213.7 billion, a 4.6 per cent increase.

"We expect the market environment to be much the same over the near term as it has been recently," said Mr George Shiffler, Research Director for Gartner Dataquest's Client Platforms Markets Group.

"Emerging markets and mobile PCs will continue to afford PC vendors their best opportunities for growth. However, falling average selling prices, slowing replacement activity, and further declines in mature market desk-based PC shipments will keep PC vendors under pressure to rationalise their operations or exit the market."

NO VISTA IMPACT

Gartner said worldwide PC shipments would enjoy at best a limited boost from the release of Microsoft's new operating system, Vista.

Vista is forecast to have virtually no impact on PC shipments to larger businesses in 2007.

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