[January 05, 2009] Over Half a Million Non-PC SBs Are Likely to Aquire PCs in the Next 12 Months Tweet KOLKATA, India --(Business Wire)-- Nearly 22% of SBs (small businesses, or companies with up to 99 employees) in India have plans in the next 12 months to invest in computers for the first time. This is likely to add over half a million non-PC SBs (SBs with no computer adoption) to the existing PC SB universe within India. This will also boost spending in other IT categories such as software, services, security, etc, according to a recent study by New York-based Access Markets International (AMI) Partners, Inc. "In the current economic downturn, businesses are looking at cutting costs, and as a result PC-owning SBs are extending the life-cycle of existing PCs," says Dipendra Mitra, Analyst at AMI-Partners. "The non-PC owning businesses hold the key to growth in India. Even if a fraction of the 2.5 million non-PC owning businesses buy a PC, it will provide a considerable boost to the Indian IT industry." SMBs are a vital part of the Indian economy and a major contributor to India's GDP. Yet, only a little more than a third of all SBs actually own and use a PC. One key reason for this is the lack of awareness of the benefits of PCs among SBs. A recent AMI survey found that more than 55% of the SBs view PCs as having no relevance to their line of business, and nearly a third have not even considered buying a PC. "However, this attitude is changing as non-PC SBs realize the benefits of computerization," Mr. Mitra says. "About a quarter of these non-PC SBs say PCs will make their business look more professional. And one fifth of these non-PC SBs say PCs will increase the productivity of their employees, and the resultant business automation will boost efficiency. A considerable proportion of these businesses are likely to be first-time PC buyers." When asked about their channel preference for future PC purchase, 90% of non-PC SBs in India said they preferred to buy from the local computer store. Retail computer stores offer many advantages, such as convenient options of buying over the counter, selecting from multiple brands and models and a chance to weigh the pros and cons of each PC model or brand. Local resellers/system builders/box-pushers (also known as value-added resellers or VARs) are the second preferred channel for future PC purchasers among the non-PC SBs. This is mainly due to their personalized service and support. "Non-PC SBs need considerable hand-holding in the initial stages of PC adoption, in terms of installation and occasional troubleshooting," Mr. Mitra says. "Those are exactly the strengths of VARs." AMI surveys have identified a distinct category of non-PC SBs which are categorized as "Concerned Non-PC SBs." These are defined as SBs which have expressed their concern with the current economic scenario and state that general business conditions will get worse in the next 12 months. This segment of Concerned Non-PC SBs demographically earns higher revenues, makes quick decisions, has a larger branch network, a bigger mobile workforce, and is thus more concerned about the current economic downturn. Related Studies AMI's 2008-09: India Non-PC Small Business Market Overview -Impact of Economy: Changing Dynamics, Opportunities & Challenges and 2008-09: India Small Business Market Overview -Impact of Economy: Changing Dynamics, Opportunities & Challenges studies highlight these and other major trends in the context of current/planned IT, Internet and communications usage and spending. Products and services covered include established and emerging hardware, software, applications and business process solutions. Based on AMI's annual surveys of SMBs in India, the studies track a broad spectrum of issues pertaining to budgets, purchase behaviors, decision influencers, channel preferences, outsourcing, service and support. Also covered are detailed firmographics and critically important technology attitudes and strategic planning priorities. This data points to key opportunities and messaging hot buttons for vendors and service providers seeking to match their offerings to SMB market requirements. For more information about this study, AMI-Partners, or our global SMB research, call 212-944-5100, e-mail [email protected], or visit the AMI Web site at www.ami-partners.com. About Access Markets International (AMI) Partners, Inc. AMI-Partners specializes in IT, Internet, telecommunications and business services strategy, venture capital, and actionable market intelligence—with a strong focus on global small and medium business (SMB) enterprises and extending into large enterprises and home-based businesses. The AMI-Partners mission is to empower clients for success with the highest quality data, business strategy perspectives and "go-to-market" solutions. Led by Andy Bose, the firm has built a world-class management team with deep experience cutting across IT, telecommunications and business services sectors in established and emerging markets. AMI-Partners has helped shape the go-to-market SMB strategies of more than 150 leading IT, Internet, telecommunications and business services companies over the last ten years. The firm is well known for its IT and Internet adoption-based segmentation of the SMB markets, its annual retainership services based on global SMB tracking surveys in more than 25 countries, and its proprietary database of SMBs and SMB channel partners in the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific. The firm invests significantly in collecting survey-based information from several thousand SMBs annually, and is considered the premier source for global SMB trends and analysis. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]