Bean counters at Canalys have added up some numbers and have concluded that the long slide of the PC market might be over.
Windows 10, and the arrival of Device as a Service (DaaS) and some marketing have all paid off.
Canalys is forecasting a 2.1 percent decline this year, which is set to be the smallest reduction for the last four years and should usher in a period of stability and peace on earth.
The consumer end of the market has been a significant problem over the last 18 months and although demand will remain weak the decision by vendors to get canny and focus on specific areas, like gaming machines, is starting to pay some dividends.
Canalys research analyst Ishan Dutt said the channel was starting to get a handle on the consumer market and work out what customers want.
“Despite the sector’s weak performance, there are lower barriers to entry from a channel perspective compared with the commercial sector. Huawei and Xiaomi are already attempting to disrupt selected markets, but neither yet has a range of products or channel, partners to trouble the incumbents,” he said.
Dutt said that growth was also possible in the more lucrative commercial market.
“Commercial customers will be a vital driver for PC shipments in 2018. Vendors now have several strategic options for achieving growth. Firstly, several vendors are now tracking their customers that are still running Windows 7 and will specifically target these accounts with sales teams. Secondly, vendors will invest further in Device as a Service (DaaS) offerings, which lock-in PC refresh cycles,” he said.
Although DaaS is a good idea but flogging the model is proving trick for some resellers.
“Shifting from a transactional to contractual model is a major operational challenge for customers and channel partners, and this will prevent DaaS becoming a major revenue stream in the near-term,” said Dutt.
Another area that should reap some growth, and has already caught the eye of some distributors, is the option to push the Chromebook product line into some verticals, with education one of the main targets.
