Used PCs on demand: Gartner

Demand for used PCs in emerging regions is robust and is exceeding supply in
some markets, according to Gartner. For every two new PCs shipped to mature
markets in 2005, one secondary market PC will be resold.

Gartner defines a secondary-market PC as a PC that has been used for more
than three months by its primary/initial user and then made available to another
user for secondary use. Such PCs mainly come from supplier nations, such as the
United States, Japan and Western Europe, into demand regions such as Eastern
Europe, Middle East and Africa (MEA), Latin America and Asia/ Pacific.

Currently, one in 12 PCs in use worldwide is a secondary PC. In 2004, 152.5
million secondary PCs were shipped. Gartner analysts estimate 36 percent of
secondary PCs or 55 million PCs, were dedicated to reuse. These secondary
machines will provide a strong base from which the used PC market will grow.

"The demand for secondary PCs continues to exceed supply, providing
opportunistic but potentially lucrative opportunities for specialized
intermediaries and resellers or vendors looking to resell used PCs," said
Meike Escherich, Principal Analyst for Gartner's Client Platforms Research
Group.

He added that unlike mature markets, operating system intellectual property
rights are rarely respected, allowing lower resale values for secondary
machines. Gartner analysts said the secondary PC market will continue to grow
during the next several years in the home and professional markets, sparked by
replacement activity, longer system life, new-seat opportunities in low-cost
regions.

"With recycling legislation becoming more common, organizations will
have a greater incentive to sell their used PCs," Meike said. "PC
performance is extending the useful life of PCs. At the same time, users are
opting to extend the life spans of installed PCs. This may increase used PC
availability," he said.

this, Acme is also looking forward to selling end-to-end NAS and SAN-based
storage solutions as well.

Acme is alsoa working towards offering a mix of open source technologies for
its set of clientele in the region. "There are a lot of opportunities in
this region, we just need to explore the best possible way to create a win-win
situation for our clients. So, if our customers cannot afford Sun Solaris, we
would be offering them a solution based on open source as Sun Microsystems
supports the open source cause to quite an extent," added Mishra.

DQW News Bureau

Mumbai