SME & CONSUMER NEWS

UK, France cheapest for mobile broadband

UNITED KINGDOM

FRANCE

Comparing mobile data pricing in a number of countries, ABI Research found that the UK, France and India have among the world’s lowest prices for mobile broadband plans. In India for example, where 3G mobile broadband services launched in the middle of 2009, an unlimited download plan costs €15 per month. “However, in developed markets the

widespread use of data dongles has created strains on mobile networks; and one could see data plans change to throttle data consumption.” “ABI Research expects emerging markets

with low Internet penetration to price mobile broadband aggressively to drive usage,” says ABI Research analyst Bhavya Khanna. “However, in developed markets the widespread use of data dongles has created strains on mobile networks; and one could see data plans change to throttle data consumption.”

Study reveals SMB upturn

UNITED KINGDOM

NEARLY two thirds of SMB businesses believe that their customers will spend more on IT in 2010 according to a study by Microsoft. The Microsoft SMB/Partner Insight Report

found that 63% believe their customers will spend more, an increase of 38% since 2009. The study, of from more than 500 partners in the UK, US, Canada, Brazil and India, revealed although the majority were concerned about the business climate, they indicated they will invest in IT that directly benefits their bottom line. This is by either reducing operating costs, improving employee productivity, or acquiring and retaining customers. “I wouldn’t say we were surprised by the

increase in IT spend from SMBs in 2010,” Robert Epstein, Head of SMB, Microsoft UK, told IT Europa. “Since the start of the year we have seen an increase in software purchases from SMBs which is a good sign that there is a recovery in the economy and also that SMBs see the value in updating and new technology so this is in line with expectation.” Why then, does he think SMBs are spending

more now? “This is partially because of under- investment during the downturn of the previous year. However, SMBs are recognizing that some of their older technology is reaching the end of its life and that smart investment in IT can create competitive advantage and speed their growth.” Virtualisation, IT consolidation, SaaS, CRM, and

support of remote workers were found by the report to be SMB’s most important technology

investments. www.microsoft.com

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Operators in some countries are already using

this approach, limiting data to 5GB or even to 3GB per month, even for their most expensive plans. Vice President of Forecasting Jake Saunders,

adds, “Another consumer concern is confusing overage charges for data plans: consumers often do not know how many megabytes of data they are downloading. Once again, there is room for innovation here from operators by simplifying overage costs and educating consumers to encourage uptake of such services.” ABI Research’s “Mobile Data Pricing Database”

(http://www.abiresearch.com/research/1004104) tracks mobile data pricing for both handset use and USB modems across 27 countries worldwide. The database includes information about data pricing plans by carrier, as well as a cross country comparison of the lowest cost plan for downloading 3GB of data. www.abiresearch.com

Faster then expected recovery in PC sales

EUROPE

IDC expects the EMEA PC market to return to double-digit growth in unit shipments, driven by recovery in Central and eastern Europe. The market may reach +14% Y/Y Growth in 20 10. Although price erosion will continue, revenue growth is also expected to turn positive. Consumer demand will continue to drive PC sales, with business demand picking up more strongly from mid-year onwards. The transition to mobility will continue

unabated across the region, as notebook renewals and further expansion of the installed base accelerate, however all-in-ones will help sustain consumer desktop volumes. The commercial segment is clearly benefiting from a more favourable y/y comparison in 1H 10, with demand levels expected to recover from 2H 10 onwards across both SMB and corporate sectors. Public sector spending is likely to remain curbed across key economies following major investments in 2009.

HP maintained leadership and further

strengthened its position across both mature and emerging markets. The vendor remained dominant in the desktop space, and although they faced stiff competition in the portable market, HP reported robust consumer notebook sales. Acer remained in second place, with its strong

performance driven by recovery in CEE. The vendor continued to drive share consolidation in EMEA, thanks to aggressive promotions in the notebook market, deploying a strong push across both consumer and SMB segments. www.idc.com

Handheld market “like IT 20 years ago”

GERMANY UNITED KINGDOM

THE resellers who can create handheld specialist Intermec’s channel are limited in numbers, even thought the technology has got a lot easier to supply and manage. And as opportunities to link devices with applications and remote management increase, the channel could be expected to widen. “It very much like IT was 20 years ago” new

EMEA channel boss Mel Taylor (above) tells IT Europa. The resellers are buying a device, software from someone, the networking from another place, and they are building a solution around that is profitable to supply.” But a lot are smaller, lifestyle companies that have limited possibilities for expansion. Ex-Symbol, ex-Intermec people, plus others who started with barcode labelling printer companies, and retailers – have all formed small specialists. “They have carved out a good niche and value

add. It is interesting, though, that the bandwidth for mobile devices has increased because of consumer demand, and this is now becoming available for enterprises and enterprise systems. Business can take advantage of it without paying for the investment in bandwidth. Applications can now be taken out of the building into the mobile world relatively easily.” The traditional Intermec customers include large

transacting organisations such as postal delivery companies and large retailers - but the reseller part has been in supplying the services. What the channel can do now – and some have started – is doing the provisioning of handhelds, up to 30,000 devices in some of these large customers, sold as a managed service, he says. “The channel – we have a few big partners

in the UK and Germany, and then working down the three tiers – 25% of resellers are platinum, 25% gold, 50% silver, so we obviously want to broaden the bottom part of that. The revenue is skewed to the large companies. But there is a huge opportunity for the smaller partners to be trained and become self-sufficient and go out and sell to the broader market.”

www.intermec.com

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