Global PC & Server Industry
The world PC industry expanded 6% in 2010 to exceed $175 billion, according to MarketLine. The market is expected to fall to just over $174 billion in 2015, marking more than a 0.5% decline. The industry is expected to exceed 446 million units in terms of volume in 2015, representing a near 52% increase compared with 2010. The Americas represent almost 40% of the overall market, which is highly competitive due to large scale outfits and a diverse market environment.
With consumers and businesses becoming increasingly reliant on eBusiness, the retail industry is processing greater volumes of data, necessitating more complex IT infrastructure, with rising demand for servers in particular. Large-scale data centers have also come to light as a driving force behind the server industry.
Key Market Segments
- The world low-end servers market is expected to near 17.5 million units by 2017, according to research from Global Industry Analysts. The market is fuelled by SMB segment demand, and corporate need to update servers following the economic recession. Asia-Pacific is the leading regional market for low-end servers, set to maintain yearly growth in excess of 11% through 2017.
- The world enterprise server virtualization industry is expected to grow at a yearly rate of around 32% between 2010 and 2014, according to TechNavio. The market is being driven by a move to cut server infrastructure costs. The market is increasingly deployed on commodity servers, though with virtualization becoming more complex, the move is not full-scale.
- TechNavio forecasts the world high-performance computing server industry will record yearly growth in excess of 7% between 2010 and 2014. Market growth is being fuelled by rising demand for computation systems offering real-time analysis. Cloud companies are increasingly favoring HPC, though the lack of sophisticated software may prove an obstacle to market growth.
Regional Market Share
- India’s PC peripherals market is forecast to reach close to $1 billion by 2015, reports Netscribes. Market growth is fuelled by the need to upgrade from obsolete hardware, falling prices, state participation, eBusiness activity and rising levels of disposable income. With a sizeable PC base, the need to replace obsolete peripherals will continue to drive market expansion. Government initiatives including e-governance also continue to fuel peripherals demand. Obstacles to market growth include the grey market and smart handheld devices, which see consumers cut back need for PC peripherals. Market trends include the move some industry players are making into the handheld device sector, consumer preoccupation with the aesthetic aspect of products, and LED display demand. Interest in smart handheld devices has some industry players taking up a share of the tablet PC sector. Consumers are demanding not only specs but smaller, more easily portable products with aesthetic appeal.
- China’s PC market generated close to $23 billion in 2010, according to research from MarketLine. The market is expected to grow at a yearly rate of almost 6.5% between 2010 and 2015 to exceed $31 billion. In terms of volume, market consumption grew at a yearly rate in excess of 18% between 2006 and 2010 to reach 50 million units.
- In the US, MarketLine estimates the PC market generated $47 billion in 2010. Market expansion is expected to slow to an annual rate of around -0.6% between 2010 and 2015 to bring the market to less than $35 billion by the close of 2015. In terms of consumption, the market recorded yearly growth of almost 5% for the four-year period ending 2010 to exceed 75.5 million units.
Industry Leaders
- Key players operating in the global PC and server market include Microsoft, Apple, Hewlett-Packard, Oracle, Acer America, Dell, IBM, Advanced Micro Device, Intel, Fujitsu and Cisco Systems.
Market Outlook
The PC industry continues to lose market share to mobile devices and tablet PCs. Companies are faced with a tough challenge to rival more compact products that offer consumers access from any location at any time. Industry players following the market trend to move into these segments benefit from general consumer demand for mobility. Mobile Applications for tablets will be centered around enterprise, professional and consumer markets. Global Industry Analysts predict low-end server demand will be buoyed by IT assets cost efficiency following the economic recession. Other factors fuelling market growth include developed markets demand and replacements of x86 servers.
Leading Industry Associations
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