Monday Morning Impact – October 28

Published On: October 27, 2024Categories: Buzz

Global PC Shipments Hold Reasonably Steady

Two prominent market researchers have released nearly concurrent reports on near-term global PC shipments.

According to IDC, worldwide shipments of traditional PCs dipped 2.4% year-over-year (YoY) to 68.8 million units, during the third quarter of 2024 (3Q24). Factors including rising costs and inventory replenishment led to a surge in shipments in the previous quarter, resulting in a slightly slower sales cycle.

“Demand, without a doubt, has returned for PCs amongst consumers and commercial buyers,” said Jitesh Ubrani, research manager with IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers. “However, much of the demand was still concentrated at the entry-level thanks to a recovering economy and the back-to-school season in North America. That said, newer AI PCs such as Copilot+ PCs from Qualcomm along with Intel and AMD’s equivalent chips as well as Apple’s expected M4-based Macs are expected to drive the premium segment in coming months.”

Commercial demand outside the education sector also remained strong as many businesses have begun to refresh their PCs in preparation for the end of support for Windows 10. Key markets such as Japan grew double digits during 3Q24 and is leading this transition, but IDC expects other markets to follow suit in the coming quarters. Meanwhile, Apple had a strong 1H24 and YoY comparison base before its new products are expected to launch.

“After two quarters of mild growth, the market is taking a breather before going into the year-end buying period,” said Bryan Ma, vice president with IDC’s Worldwide Device Trackers. “Downside risks remain in the current geopolitical environment, but we think there is enough upside going into next year to lift the market into modest single-digit growth.”

Meanwhile, according to Canalys, the global PC market grew year on year for a fourth consecutive quarter, with total shipments of desktops, notebooks and workstations up 1.3% to 66.4 million units. Notebook shipments (including mobile workstations) reached 53.5 million units, up 2.8%, while desktop shipments (including desktop workstations) contracted 4.6% to 12.9 million units.

“Although growth in Q3 was modest, the PC market recovery is now well underway with a number of positive signals indicating stronger performance in the coming quarters,” said Ishan Dutt, Principal Analyst at Canalys. “Commercial procurement is expected to remain elevated throughout the rest of this year, with 54% of channel partners surveyed by Canalys anticipating growth in their PC business in H2 2024 compared with the same period last year.”

According to Canalys, the next 12 months are set for continued strong growth as a large proportion of the Windows PC installed base still needs to be refreshed before the end of life of Windows 10 in October 2025.

Channel Impact^®
Readers examining the variances in the two reports should note that the IDC data is based on traditional PCs, whereas the Canalys report includes desktops, notebooks, workstations and mobile workstations.

TD Synnex: Partners Seek Balance Between AI Innovation and Core Technologies

TD Synnex has published its Third Annual Direction of Technology Report, suggesting that as the technology landscape evolves, businesses plan to invest in technology infrastructure, leverage high-growth technologies and work with expert, trusted partners.

The report also emphasizes the critical role of security, as it remains the top offering for partners, underscoring the need to balance innovation with risk mitigation. But when it comes to doing business, resellers prioritize affordability and flexibility, responding to the evolving needs of their customer base.

“For the third straight year, the Direction of Technology report provides a clear picture both of the current state of the technology market and areas where businesses say they plan to invest the most,” said Patrick Zammit, CEO of TD Synnex. “This year, we’re seeing much more detail on how partners are embracing the power of AI and cloud technologies while making technology more adaptable to the needs of their customers. At the same time, they are balancing the need for robust security and regulatory compliance across all industries.”

Among the highlights, partners are under mounting pressure to make the case for high-growth technologies, including nearly half (44%) who plan to offer AI in the next two years. The ecosystem is investing in core technologies like security and hardware, ensuring that the new goes hand-in-hand with the foundational.

Respondents identified security as the top profit generator in the ecosystem, while networking, endpoint devices, AI and hyperscale infrastructure round out their top revenue drivers.

The report is based on a survey of more than 1,000 technology resellers, systems integrators, service providers and managed service providers from over 60 countries globally. These respondents shared they are accelerating investments in AI and Generative AI (Gen AI) technologies, with nearly half saying they plan to offer AI-driven solutions within the next two years.

Channel Impact^®TD Synnex’s third Annual Direction of Technology Report highlights key trends shaping the IT landscape, including AI innovation, security advancements, and the growing importance of ESG.

Barracuda Launches Partner Sales Engineer Community and other Enhancements

Barracuda Networks, a Campbell, California-based security company, has launched its new Partner Sales Engineer Community, an enablement and rewards program for value-added resellers, managed service providers, distributors, and systems integrators. Benefits include access to training labs, scanning tools, and live Barracuda product demos and sandboxes. Partners are also eligible for exclusive rewards and benefits and can collaborate with peers.

Barracuda has also unveiled enhancements to its overall partner program, including Security Operations Center (SOC)-as-a-Service for sell-through partners; new certifications for Barracuda Managed XDR and updated certifications for other flagship offerings; and two new dashboard modules to help partners more easily monitor program compliance with real-time visibility into revenue and certification achievements and renewals, as well as track performance against rebate targets.

“We have made significant advancements to the Barracuda Partner Success Program since its launch last year to arm frontline partners with industry-leading solutions, expert security operations specialists, and the necessary training and tools to neutralize attacks and improve overall cyber resiliency,” said Jason Beal, vice president of worldwide partner ecosystems at Barracuda. “We are continuously listening to and learning alongside our partners in a truly collaborative approach, and these phase three program updates directly address feedback to meet their evolving needs.”

Channel Impact^®The combined proposition is intended to expand technical expertise and help customers understand and strengthen their cybersecurity defenses.

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