PC empire on the wane, reports says
June 17, 1998
Inman News Features
Personal computers may not be consumers' tool of choice when shopping for homes over the Web, a
report by the International Data Corporation (IDC) suggests.
While PCs have virtually controlled access to the Internet for consumers over the last four years, IDC
predicts new access devices such as TV set-top boxes, and Web-enabled telephones and video game
consoles are the wave of the future.
In 1997, PCs accounted for 96 percent of Web-access devices shipped in the United States. By 2002,
IDC predicts that percentage will be cut in half as new, non-PC technologies flood the market.
Frank Gens, IDC's senior vice president of research, told Newsbytes the main players at most PC-related
companies already know the transition is coming. "Their job now is to lobby the rest of their companies to
start shifting now, not later," he said. "It's kind of like the PC guys at IBM, Digital and Wang in the early
80s. The parallels are quite strong."
The tidal change in the market will affect a larger scope than the consumer market; suppliers who have
hitched their wagons to the PC star, such as Dell and Compaq, will also have to adjust or risk being
marginalized.
IDC's report says the flood of new access devices will inundate the network, especially servers, and
forward-thinking companies in the business of operating systems are racing to control the platform.
But IDC warns against selling off PC investments too quickly. PCs will continue to be a growth market,
while the appliance market will be unstable until a clear winner emerges.
"It could be that we're looking at the PC wars of 1977, 78, 79, and the real dominant platform may not
show up for a few years," Gens told Newbytes. "That's what happened with PCs in the late 70s, early 80s.
But there's no question pressure is building because the industries that want to do business on the Web
don't want Balkanized access to the market. They want to be able to reach everybody." |
