Emerging markets to boost computer usage: study

Tuesday, 12 June 2007, 19:30 IST
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New Delhi: Emerging markets like Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) will boost the usage of personal computers (PCs) by over two billion within 2012, says a study. With more and more hi-tech programmes being utilised by these previously untapped markets, the BRIC region alone uses more than 775 million new PCs, said a study called 'Worldwide PC Adoption Forecast, 2007 To 2015', carried out by global technology research company Forrester Research Inc. "There is nothing more important to the long-term health of the technology industry - and personal technology in particular - than the ability to deliver relevant, accessible and affordable technology to the billions of people worldwide who have not been exposed to it," Simon Yates, vice president and research director, Forrester Research, said in a statement. "The industry can probably survive selling incrementally better hardware and software to the people who already have technology in their lives, but the vast majority of growth in the PC and related industries will come from emerging markets." However, there is a great deal of volatility in this, according to Forrester, as vendors are less aware about the emerging new markets and the behavioural pattern of buyers there. Moreover, it would not be possible for vendors to introduce products on a small scale as compared to the bigger matured markets, and this will force suppliers to focus on bringing volume to market more quickly at much greater risk, the report said. "There are risks. It is safe to assume that life cycles will be longer in emerging markets," Yates said. "Vendors, accustomed to mature markets where the average life cycle is between four and five years, will need to have a deep understanding of how to work in these markets and, with less of a market for replacement PCs, will need to band together to scale production for these emerging regions," he added. Lauding the efforts of IT giants like Microsoft and Intel for being able to effectively penetrate the hitherto untapped markets, Forrester Research has asked other firms also to enter virgin markets to accelerate the scale of PC production.
Source: IANS