Traditionally, hardware sales have been seen as the strongest indicator of the health of the IT economy. Back in gloomy March, Gartner predicted a whopping 12 per cent decline in PC sales in 2009 as businesses and consumers put off upgrades.
However recent figures from Intel are putting a rosier spin on things. It has raised its guidance for the rest of the year and believes the industry will sell as many computers in 2009 as 2008.
What this sunny prediction masks is a fundamental shift in the market. It used to be your computer choice was laptop or desktop. Now new categories like netbooks, tablets, ereaders, sub-notebooks and even mobile phones are the computing choice for a lot of people. Fine for chip makers like Intel, but a worry for traditional PC manufacturers as the lines blur between computing, mobile and consumer electronics. Sales this Christmas promise to be crucial – watch this space to see who the winners are.
ware implementations a roll-out also keeps the IT department busy. 