Ingram sells off it's components division
Whilst business in the PC sales channel is rebounding, as witnessed by IDC's third quarter sales figures (detailed below), things are not that peachy in the distribution business.
Ingram Micro Europe - one of the veterans in the UK/West European IT distribution channel - has just sold off its components operation to one of its German group companies. Financial details of the sale have not been announced, but Ingram Micro Components GmbH will now be the group's only sales channel in Europe to system builders across Europe. The move forms part of a general restructuring of Ingram Micro Europe, although the company remains coy on how long and how in-depth the restructuring is.
Panda Software signs two more UK distributors
Panda Software, the antivirus specialist, has signed distribution deals with two more UK distributors, Northamber and Wick Hill, building on its distribution deal with ISPD in the summer. Panda says that the three companies will act as its primary distributors for the UK reseller channel, although the vendor's existing arrangements with its specialist distributors, Blue Solutions and Microtec 99, are unaffected.
Since the start of September, Panda has moved over to a completely indirect sales channel model in the UK, something the company announced its plans for in the summer of last year. The restructuring has included the appointment and activation of dedicated strategic business partners, distributor partners and reseller partners.
Notebooks boost EMEA PC market by 18.7 PC in third quarter
Research just published by IDC shows that PC shipments grew by 18.7 per cent during the third quarter of this year in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. The IT research firm says the bulk of this surge was due to buoyant sales of notebook PCs, mainly thanks to relentless price erosion and fierce competition across both business and consumer channels. During the quarter, IDC says its researchers noted a 25 per cent reduction in notebook prices, when comparing Q3 this year with last.
The good news for resellers is that IDC noted an improvement in desktop PC sales during the third quarter, supported mainly by a gradual rebound in business sales. Karine Paoli, IDC's research director, said that, as economic conditions are still fragile and renewal cycles are only gradually picking up, continued price erosion has clearly been a major volume generation weapon during the third quarter. 'Although vendors may try to rebalance the market towards higher-end products, the fourth quarter could well present very similar market patterns and vendors may have no choice other than to remain very aggressive to stimulate demand,' she explained.
Paoli's report says that HP enjoyed a strong performance in the third quarter, with 17.6 per cent growth year on year, and maintained clear leadership in the region. Not unexpectedly, Dell continued to outperform the market, recording another strong quarter with nearly 30 per cent growth year on year. Benefiting from the gradual corporate rebound, IDC says that Dell also continued to gain share in the small-to-medium-sized business and consumer channels, thanks to effective selling and pricing strategies, as well as expanding outside Western Europe.
Interestingly, Fujitsu Siemens maintained its strong third position in EMEA, despite some heavy competition from both international and local vendors across the business and consumer markets. IDC says that Acer also recorded another outstanding quarter with over 55 per cent growth overall, primarily driven by strong notebook sales.
Avocent signs with C2000 for UK sales
Computer 2000, the UK distribution arm of Tech Data, has signed a major UK distribution deal with Avocent Corporation, the keyboard, video and mice (KVM) switch vendor.
The plan is to raise Avocent's sales profile in the small-to-mid-sized business marketplace, as well as allow Computer 2000 to offer a wider choice of products in the KVM marketplace. Avocent says that deal gives it a key distribution partner for its low- to mid-range KVM switch products, including the SwitchView and AutoView series.
C2000, meanwhile, says it will provide distribution services to Avocent's existing partners and to its own 10,000-strong reseller customer base across the UK and Ireland, extending Avocent's reach in the market and helping the company to drive its sales forward.
Commenting on the deal, Simon Hill, director of UK product distribution with Azlan, Computer 2000's networking division, said that the company has seen strong growth in the KVM market. 'We believe that this growth will continue and gain momentum over next few months,' he said. 'Avocent has established itself as a quality desktop and data centre hardware provider and we are delighted to be adding the company's full range to our portfolio.'
Paul Smith, Avocent's UK country manager, said that he plans to work closely with C2000 to develop its profile in the small-to-mid-sized enterprise (SME) marketplace. 'We have a strong proposition for SMEs looking for cost-effective KVM solutions and it was important for us to find a partner who could help us expand in this market. Computer 2000 has a great reputation built upon solid customer service and pan-European presence. We're extremely pleased to be working with them to support our sales in the UK.'
Third quarter sees fastest PC growth in three years
Research from IDC shows that the PC market in the UK experienced its highest rate of growth in the third quarter of this year since the same period in 2000. With sales expanding by 17.4 per cent year on year, the IT research firm says that the key drivers were consumer spending and an increased preference for mobility, although seasonal back-to-school trends have added further weight to desktop and notebook shipments.
IDC says that notebooks continue to drive the market with growth of 39.6 per cent year on year, while desktops have grown nine per cent overall. Commenting on the figures, Ian Gibbs, research analyst with the firm's European PC group, said the continued decline in PC prices boosted both business and consumer sales during the quarter. 'With vendor revenues inevitably affected as a consequence, further price and margin erosion in the notebook space, although necessary for market expansion, will continue to be of key concern,' he said.
According to Gibbs, because consumer spending is still increasing in the UK, he expects PC shipments to continue rising into the fourth quarter of the year. The consumer notebook market, says IDC, once again recorded growth of over 90 per cent year on year, with brands sold through Dixons and PC World stores enjoying particular success. Commercial PC shipments, it says, have been led by notebook growth of 25.8 per cent year on year.
The majority of growth was seen from small and medium businesses, which displayed both a greater flexibility than large corporate businesses in freeing up IT budgets and a greater demand for mobility in computing. Commercial desktop shipments, says IDC, grew by 5.9 per cent year on year with growth experienced in the small-to-medium-sized business segment and also from a distinct improvement in corporate renewals.
Although still not up to the growth rates of the smaller business segments, the IT research firm says that large corporate PC rollouts are picking up momentum as budgets are made available for the essential upgrading of ageing equipment.
Breaking the figures down by vendor reveals some interesting trends, with Dell moving into pole position for the first time since the HP-Compaq merger - with a 22 per cent share of the market, the direct-sell vendor having grown its market by 34.6 per cent over the last 12 months.
HP, meanwhile. dropped to second position in the overall market with a share of 18.4 per cent.
IDC says that the vendor's performance in the desktop market - particularly on the commercial side, where shipments have declined by 18.2 per cent year on year - has had a particularly negative effect. Despite this, the firm says that HP's continued shift in focus towards notebooks, where growth of 76 per cent has been experienced by the vendor, has been very positive.
Unipalm signs with Blue Coast Systems
Unipalm, the veteran communications-turned-IT-security distributor, has signed as distribution agreement with California's Blue Coast Systems, for its ProxySG range of Web proxy security appliances. David Ellis, director of e-security with the the UK and Ireland distributor, said that the arrangement represents a massive opportunity for resellers, as their customers are increasingly having to face the risks associated with Web browsing, instant messaging and peer-to-peer communications. 'Blue Coat is already working closely with a number of our key vendor partners, including Websense, Trend Micro and Symantec, so this agreement perfectly complements our existing portfolio,' he said.
Blue Coat Systems bills itself as the leading provider of secure proxy appliances that control user communications over the Web. The ProxySG appliances are said to integrate advanced proxy functionality with security services such as content filtering, instant messaging control and Web virus scanning, without affecting network performance. As part of the agreement, Unipalm will become an Authorised Training Centre for Blue Coat Systems and will offer a 24x7 onsite hardware service facility.
Panda Software UK, 0044- 870-4445640, www.pandasoftware.co.uk;
InTechnology, www.intechnology.co.uk;
Network Appliance, www.netapp.com;
Vasco, www.vasco.com;
IDC, 0044-20-89877218 (GB) , www.idc.com;
Computer 2000 UK, 0044-870-0603344, www.computer2000.co.uk;
Avocent UK, 0044-1344-668049, www.avocent.com.
Unipalm, 0044-1638-569600, www.unipalm.co.uk.