E-Business
Holiday Promotions Jerk up EMEA Q4 PC Shipment to 2.0% – IDC
PC shipments in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) reached 25.5 million units in the fourth quarter of 2014, a 2.0% increase year on year, according to International Data Corporation (IDC).
Strong consumer demand during the holiday season helped keep the market at positive levels for the third consecutive quarter, albeit modest and patchy across the region, leading to 5.5% growth for 2014 with 93.3 million PCs shipped in EMEA.
Once again, there were strong regional differences in EMEA.
Western Europe continued to drive growth with shipments increasing 10.7%. In line with expectations, Central and Eastern Europe contracted 18.7%.
The Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 2.6%.
The market was primarily driven by healthy consumer shipments in Western Europe. Vendors continued to stock up ahead of Christmas and January promotion sales, and before the February change to Bing promotions in mature markets excluding 15in. notebooks.
This resulted in portable PC shipments increasing 5.3% year on year in EMEA. As expected, desktop PC shipments contracted 3.5% during the quarter. Currency fluctuations have also had a strong impact in northern Europe, Russia, and other countries in Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (CEMA), while an unstable political situation and macroeconomic weaknesses continued to inhibit investments in parts of the region.
The dynamics across EMEA reflect a strong need for renewals in the mature markets, while highlighting that emerging economies continue to struggle.
“The growth in Europe is a positive sign for manufacturers. Past quarters saw consolidation in the market with HP and Lenovo emerging stronger than before,” said Chrystelle Labesque, research manager, IDC EMEA Personal Computing.
In Western Europe, shipments for the holiday season and post-Christmas promotions underpinned the growth particularly in the consumer space. Central Europe did not see any major uplift, whereas France and the U.K. showed solid double-digit percentage growth. Southern Europe (Spain, Greece, Portugal, and Italy) has been on a recovery path after years of decline.
Promotions have been key to driving demand and boosting consumer portable PC shipments by 18.2% and consumer desktops by 13.2%.
The positive impact of the end of Windows XP support on desktops ended, which explained the 3.9% decline in commercial shipments.
In addition, pockets of inventory across the region led to a further drop in sell-in of business desktops.
As expected, commercial demand remained strong for portable PCs, which posted a 12.6% increase. Overall desktop shipment growth in Western Europe reached 1.6% and portable PCs 15.9%.
“PC manufacturers prepared very attractive consumer offers this Christmas, with low price points supported by Windows 8.1 with Bing edition, which enticed end users to renew their devices,” said Maciek Gornicki, senior research analyst, IDC EMEA Personal Computing. “With the conditions of the promotion about to change, inventories have been built up this quarter, contributing further to higher levels of stock in the supply chain, which might translate into deceleration in consumer shipments in the first half of 2015. In the commercial segment, the wave of desktop renewals following the end of Windows XP support ended abruptly, while refreshes of portable PCs related to the introduction of Windows 7 four years ago continued and kept the commercial portable market healthy.”
Stefania Lorenz, associate VP, IDC CEMA, said 2014 ended with the PC market in the CEE region contracting 14% year on year as 4Q followed the trends witnessed in the previous quarters, reporting an annual decrease of 18.7%.
“For the second consecutive year the CEE region contracted by double-digit units,” she said. “2014 was affected mostly by the events in the eastern part of the region. Devaluation of the currencies in Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan has had the biggest impact on purchasing power. All other countries in the region reported healthy demand for the full year with double-digit growth.”
“The PC market in Central Europe reported overall year-on-year growth of 7.9% in 4Q driven by portable PCs,” said Nikolina Jurisic, product manager, IDC CEMA.
“Demand in the consumer space was driven by the continually attractive prices offered by MS Windows 8.1 plus Bing. The commercial sector recorded even stronger year-on-year growth as there is a clear need to replace the outdated installed base in addition to updates from XP operating systems.
“The MEA region recorded positive growth of 2.6% year on year, thanks to the stronger demand witnessed in Turkey and Saudi Arabia. While Saudi Arabia recovers after the introduction of a new labor law in 2013 that had negatively affected the market, expected changes in the import-tax law in Turkey at the beginning of 2015 have certainly contributed to additional electronic products being shipped into the country.”
Vendor Highlights
The top 3 players in EMEA account for more than half of the market and the top 5 for more than 70% following strategic decisions by Samsung and Sony to further invest in the region.
•HP outperformed the market and consolidated its share at more than 23% in EMEA. The vendor made strong gains particularly in the portable PC area with solid 29% growth, taking the lead in both product categories, despite a small contraction in desktop shipments. New products like Stream and convertibles were very prominent during the holiday season promotions.
•Lenovo maintained the strongest growth among the top players, continuously beating market expectations across EMEA and reaching almost 20% share in 4Q. It saw very significant growth in southern Europe (Italy, Spain, Greece, and Portugal).
•Dell grew faster than the market and consequently gained shares in EMEA. The vendor performed well in portable PCs and particularly in CEE. A consistent and strong strategy execution supported this.
•Acer recorded a softer performance, in part due to an unfavorable year-on-year comparison. Results in Western Europe were better than in the other subregions. Desktop shipments grew slightly while the vendor increased its focus on tablets.
•ASUS continued to grow aggressively in the desktop market, albeit from a small base, while the success in the tablet market seems to have come at the expense of portable PC shipments, which contracted slightly.
Outside the top 5 vendors, Apple ranked sixth, benefiting from stronger consumer demand. Toshiba’s stronger focus on the commercial market explains why it did not fully leverage consumer trends.
Fujitsu’s focus on commercial led to a decline due to the slowdown in the overall business segment. MSI was in ninth place and Wortmann was 10th.
E-Business
Allison, BHM Partner to Host ‘Africa Breakfast Convos’ @UNGA79
Africa stands at vital crossroads, balancing intricate geopolitical challenges while taking advantage of promising economic opportunities. With the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) announcing 73 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects in Africa worth more than $53 billion in the last year alone, according to the World Economic Forum, and significant growth in technology, renewable energy, and healthcare sectors, across the continent, Africa is poised for remarkable progress.
In light of these developments, Allison, a globally renowned communications consultancy, and BHM, Africa’s leading public relations firm, are joining forces to co-host an exclusive breakfast event on the sidelines of the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA79) in New York City.
The “Africa Breakfast Convos,” set for Friday 27 September 2024, at the World Trade Center, will convene business and public sector leaders from various African nations, representing key sectors such as telecommunications, finance, entertainment, government, technology, and trade.
With 70% of sub-Saharan Africa’s population under 30 and projections indicating that one-fifth of the global population will be African by 2030, the continent’s youthful demographics are drawing significant international attention.
This exclusive gathering aims to showcase Africa’s immense potential for economic growth and development while emphasising the continent’s role in achieving sustainable development goals.
The event will feature panel discussions, keynote speeches, and networking sessions exploring various aspects of the African narrative: big business, technology, pop culture, creative economy, soft power, and geopolitics. It will serve as a platform to highlight expertise and innovation on the continent.
Claudine Moore, Managing Director, Africa, at Allison, stated, “The ‘Africa Breakfast Convos’ represents a unique opportunity to bring together influential voices and decision-makers from across Africa and beyond.
“We’re excited to again facilitate meaningful dialogue during the United Nations General Assembly when Africa is a focus and we are collectively working towards collaboration driving sustainable growth and social impact across the continent.”
Femi Falodun, Executive Director, BHM, added, “This event underscores Africa’s position as a land of opportunity for investment and collaboration.
“By showcasing the continent’s dynamism and potential, we aim to foster partnerships that will contribute to shared prosperity and sustainable development.”
The “Africa Breakfast Convos” aligns with UNGA79’s theme while focusing on Africa’s potential as a driver of global progress.
“It emphasises the role of business in driving sustainable development, the importance of public-private partnerships, and the opportunities for collaboration with Africans in the diaspora.
E-Business
Privacy Protection is Now Right of Citizens —Olatunji, NDPC Boss
Dr. Vincent Olatunji, national commissioner and chief executive officer, Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), has stated that it is now the right of citizens for their privacy to be protected.
![Privacy Protection is Now Right of Citizens —Olatunji, NDPC Boss](https://www.nigeriacommunicationsweek.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Dr.-Vincent-Olatunji-300x133.jpg)
Dr. Vincent Olatunji, national commissioner. NDPC
Olatunji said this when he received a group of international data protection experts from Somalia who were on a study tour to explore Nigeria’s data protection ecosystem and its unique models.
Nigeria and Somalia are meant to exchange ideas on the protection of data, with the East African nation eager to learn what their West African counterparts are doing to keep the privacy of their citizens safe.
“It is a digital age and the protection of the privacy of all citizens of the world is paramount,” he said during the meeting held in Abuja.
“It’s now the right of all citizens for their privacy to be protected. That’s why all countries across the globe are putting in place those measures to ensure that they have their enforceable data protection rights and also put in place data protection authority to ensure that they enforce the law of data security.
‘In Nigeria, we recognise the need to protect the privacy of our citizens as it is enshrined in the 1999 constitution.”
Speaking earlier, Jamal Mohammed, Somalia’s ambassador to Nigeria, advised the delegate from his country to go home with the message that Nigeria has everything the war-torn country needs to develop. He pleaded with the NDPC DG to help his country in the area of data privacy and security.
“I’ve been here for three years now. Everything Somalia needs is in Nigeria in terms of knowledge and in terms of experience. I’d like you to take this message to Somalia,” he said.
“Don’t go to any other places. So, you’ll get anything you need in Somalia. However, in my stay here, I faced two challenges.
“The number one challenge was to convince Nigerians about Somalia. They have a phobia about Somalia. The same thing with Somalians.
“I’ve tried to convince Somalians to come to Nigeria but now they’ve got an opportunity.”
E-Business
TD Africa Opens Cross-Border Licensing Opportunities To Microsoft Resellers
In a bid to unlock new growth and profitability opportunities for businesses of all sizes, TD Africa has pulled wraps off its fully automated Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) platform.
Through this innovative automated portal, Microsoft’s indirect resellers can now resell Microsoft licenses in 47 African countries and enjoy security, profitability, increased productivity, collaboration, and flexibility, courtesy, TD Africa.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek reports that the automated CSP solution which streamlines the licensing process from customer onboarding to license provisioning, eliminates manual tasks and reduces turnaround times, thus, allowing businesses focus on delivering exceptional customer value while maximising their revenue potentials.
Read Also: TD Africa partners ZTE for quality and affordable smartphones
With competitive pricing and a comprehensive suite of Microsoft cloud products, businesses of all sizes now have access to a compelling solution to expand their reach and drive digital transformation.
The advantages of the platform which include: seamless license provisioning, competitive pricing, expanded reach, enhanced efficiency, and comprehensive product suite, make it an ideal choice for businesses seeking to capitalise on the growing demand for Microsoft cloud solutions on the continent.
Tobe Mbaneafo, Head of the Microsoft Business Unit at TD Africa, said that TD Africa is elated to introduce the A to Z automated CSP platform.
His words: “We are excited to introduce our Automated CSP platform as a game-changer for businesses looking to expand their operations across Africa.
“By providing a seamless and efficient solution for selling Microsoft licenses, we are empowering our partners to capture new opportunities and deliver exceptional value to their customers.
“This platform is a testament to our commitment to driving digital transformation and supporting the growth of businesses across the continent.”
Read Also: MTN Nigeria, Microsoft Partner on Cloud Data Hosting Solutions
To make the process stress-free, TD Africa has developed a user-friendly platform (csp.tdafrica.com) to among other things, enable businesses register and verify their account effortlessly, access a personalised dashboard for managing customer records, add tenants, select products, make payments, explore a comprehensive product catalogue with competitive pricing, make secure payments directly on the platform, and benefit from automated license provisioning after successful payment.
The tech distribution giant’s automated CSP platform is the future of cross-border business, offering unparalleled efficiency, scalability, and profitability.
Existing Microsoft partners can leverage this groundbreaking platform by registering at https://csp.tdafrica.com/auth/signup.
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