15 lakh is not enough

Is the Indian market growing the way we want it to grow, or
has the potential to grow? I am not sure, considering that according to a recent
survey on the Indian PC market by IDC, in the April-June period of this
financial year, only about 15 lakh PCs, including desktops and notebooks were
sold. And this was a 22 percent unit growth, over the same period last year. In
fact, almost 56 lakh PCs were sold last year, and therefore, at this rate there
will be about 60 lakh PCs sold this year. That will not be too impressive.

However, there are some good signs that should boost our
morale. For instance, Indian users are clearly going for the latest technology
options, even if it means paying extra. Which means they now are open to paying
more for solutions that will give them an edge. Most channel partners had
already hit rock bottom margins by selling desktops. With notebook sales picking
up, there will be relief at least for some more time.

The small and medium enterprises, education and consumer
segments were the main drivers, and would continue to be so for the notebook
category. Fortunately for channel partners, these markets are where they have to
establish themselves.

An interesting finding of the survey was that North India,
which includes NCR Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir,
Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal, emerged as the largest market for both
desktops and notebook PCs. This was followed by the South and West India.
Clearly, the market is now beyond the metros and big cities. The vendors will
need a lot of support from channel partners to establish themselves in these
markets.

One very encouraging finding is that the share of East India
(which has Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa and the northeast states) share
is steadily rising, and has now touched 11.6 percent of the total market. This
region was a mere seven percent of the national market, only three years back.
Clearly, new markets are opening up and expanding. While PC growth might not be
too great, it's going to benefit the channel partners for sure.