PC Sales To Small Business - Dell is the New Leader
The results of PC sales in small business for quarter two have changed, and there is a new #1 vendor, Dell. This is the first quarter since Q1 of 1996 that Dell has had the #1 position. Although Dell is always close to the top. The previous #1 vendor, Compaq, has slipped to #2 in this quarter, just slightly behind Dell.
In fact the top four vendors are all within about 3 share points of each other. This is a very tight grouping of the major vendors in this market and shows the kind of competitive situation that exists. Each of the top 5 vendors has specific small business marketing and selling programs that are key to driving their share in this segment. More and more the requirements for success in this segment demand specific programs and policies that target the right customers that make up the bulk of value in small business.
While the vendor rankings are quite interesting in their own right, especially to those vendors, what I find most interesting in looking at this data is that buyers in small business are moving their purchases in a bi-modal manner. They are either buying one of the top 5 name brand products, or they are buying white boxes. The vendors in the middle are getting squeezed dramatically.
If you look at the data, you can see that in Q2, the top 5 suppliers and the white boxes accounted for slightly more than 88% share of the market. Can you say market consolidation? To contrast, the share for "others" is less than half what it was in Q1 1997. This situation is a huge problem for the second tier vendors. Only Micron and Toshiba have been able to keep their share generally intact, and withstand the onslaught of the biggest names and the white boxes. Other vendors like AST, Packard Bell, and NEC have seen their position dwindle.
Now the big question in my mind is what happens when there's no more middle ground for the white boxes and the Top 5 to squeeze? When the white boxes and the top five fight it out who will win? I have my guesses, but rather than do that, I'll let the data tell me, and you too, right here at InfoBead Insider
|
