2007 was an 'outstanding' year for the PC market according to analyst giant

Notebooks are still gathering momentum across Western Europe, which contributed to an 'outstanding' 2007 performance according to analyst IDC.

Overall PC shipments in the region reached over 88 million units, an increase of 15.9 per cent year-on-year. Overall growth increased by 36.4 per cent across EMEA.

Notebook growth was attributed to an ‘increasing vendor push’ and ‘intensifying competitive and pricing pressure driving renewal rates. Consumer notebook sales rocketed by 46 per cent year on year, overtaking demand for desktop PCs for the first time in the EMEA market.

In addition the SME market will remain a key opportunity for growth, IDC revealed, in particular around mobility. Vendors will need to further tailor their strategies to better address SME’s needs with dedicated products, support and services.

Furthermore, 2008 will benefit from the current replacement cycle in the corporate space, IDC added, which is due to peak later this year. Client virtualisation will also remain a major development direction and will drive continued infrastructure investment.

Karine Paoli, associate vice president for IDC’s EMEA personal computing group, said: “IDC expects 2008 to be another buoyant year for the EMEA PC market. Notebooks will remain a key driver across the region and further market commoditisation will fuel a solid 14.4 per cent growth for total PC sales in EMEA expected to cross the 100 million mark."

"This year will mark further milestones in PC industry,” she continued. “Vendor competition is not expected to soften, particularly in the retail channel with the entry of Dell and Lenovo and Acer's consolidation with Gateway and Packard Bell, while the arrival of lower-cost mobile platforms is likely to add further pressure. As the market expands and new usage scenarios emerge, 2008 will however see the development of increasing user segmentation and branding differentiation, while the convergence expected to accelerate this year between PC and Telco players will offer new business model and routes-to-market opportunities."

Eszter Morvay, senior research analyst for IDC’s EMEA PC group, said: “In Western Europe, renewals, multi-equipment homes and further portable adoption will help maintain strong notebook momentum, with sales forecasted to grow by over 20 per cent in 2008 - however the sustained appeal of notebooks will continue to inhibit the recovery of the desktop market, expected to further contract overall at -2.6 per cent in 2008.”

"Notebook demand in the consumer and SME segments is expected to remain the key engine of growth in Western Europe. Stimulated by an increasing need for differentiation as the market commoditises, new multi-branding strategies in the retail will enable vendors to target groups of customers more effectively and to better balance price points by diversifying their offerings based on usage scenarios. Furthermore the market will continue to see fast technology adoption, allowing vendors, along with design, to differentiate new models", she added.