Thomas J Watson, the
former Chairman of IBM back in 1943 made a statement, “I think
there is a world market for maybe five computers.” Contrary to what
he had predicted, the computer has been one of the greatest
inventions of mankind. Be it at work or home, the computer has
single-handedly been responsible for changing the way we live and do
business. The year 2010 has been a significant year of growth in the
IT industry in India and the PC penetration in India continues to
rise at a rapid rate in urban and more so in rural India. IDC
reported India's PC market sales (unit shipments) for the calendar
year 2010 at 7.4 million pieces leading to a YoY growth of 31
percent.
A recently concluded study
by
href="https://www.dqweek.com/intel-organizes-cricket-match-between-uitta-and-sri-lanka">Intel
and IMRB has revealed that PC penetration in urban India has
doubled in the last three years from 19 percent to 38 percent across
SEC A, B and C. This study also reveals that PC desirability is on
the upswing across the SECs with the desirability having increased by
over 100 percent in SEC C . Total worldwide PC shipments in 2010
reached 346.2 million, a 13.6 percent increase, according to IDC, and
350.9 million units, according to Gartner.
This growth momentum is
due to the high demand for powerful computing processors and
technology platforms across enterprises, which has lead to the
improvement in the IT refreshment cycles. Going by analysts'
predictions on the IT industry, it is obvious that this growth
momentum would continue in 2011.
The PC components market
in India has been growing at a steady rate and is expected to rise
continuously in the coming years, with a projected growth percentage
of 25-30 percent. Introduction of 3G services, increase in
functionalities of mini notebook PCs and wider adoption of IT and PC
penetration in the education sector will be key factors that will
drive the PC components market in India in 2011. Broadband roll outs
in the coming months will help accelerate PC penetration in India.
The launch of new PC models, complemented with aggressive promotions
and discounted bundling schemes will amplify consumer PC spend,
especially in the portables segment. The year 2011 will also see an
increased demand for smaller and thinner laptops with high definition
and graphics-related features. Over the years, Intel has worked
closely with the ecosystem to make PCs more accessible and affordable
to consumers across various geographies in the world. The
microprocessor often referred to as the 'brain of the PC' is
perhaps the single most critical component that defines the computing
experience for a PC user. Over the years, through the relentless
pursuit of Moore's law, Intel has stayed focused on delivering
products that make the PCs smarter, more energy-efficient and better
performing.
An example of this is the
recently launched second generation Intel Core processor family,.
These processors now offer increased performance for high definition
video, gaming, eye-candy visual effects and demanding applications,
and since machines powered by these processors will no longer need
dedicated graphics cards, they will have lower power consumption.
All this translates into
the fact that the demand for PC components will significantly
increase with the expectation of these components having smaller form
factors, increased processing powers while dramatically cutting down
power consumption.