Bangkok--1 Apr--Spark Communications
- Adoption of single brand across organization preferred
- Mobility and energy efficiency set to become growing considerations
According to the ‘Corprate PC Trends and Buyer Behavior Survey’ conducted by ZDNET Asia and Connection Research[1], multi-national companies (MNCs) and government organizations are aggressively moving ahead with IT strategies to capture growth in a post-recession economy.
The survey recognizes that large organizations understand the next five years will bring many changes to managing IT infrastructure and computing, including the expected proliferation of alternative devices in the workplace such as thin clients, smartphones and tablets. The impact of the 2009 global financial crisis on PC purchasing, key considerations prior to purchase, as well as new technological and corporate trends such as PC standardization policies, energy efficiency and cloud computing were also factors considered by the survey.
The survey included responses from 956 IT decision makers from organizations with more than 500 employees across the Emerging Markets region (ASEAN, India, Hong Kong, and Middle East & Africa), of which 329 respondents were from ASEAN markets.
Jeerawut Wongpimonporn, General Country Manager, Lenovo Thailand said: “The survey reveals that PC purchasers look at factors such as good service, reliability and business continuity where these qualities are recognized to have greater value than price alone. These are key considerations when developing the Lenovo Think family, which has been repeatedly ranked as the premium-brand leader in the global PC industry, delivering a great user experience and offering the industry’s best Total Cost of Ownership.”
CXOs consider more than price: Compatibility and after-sales service are of paramount concern
The key decision makers of PC purchases, typically senior management, Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and IT managers, are more concerned about business continuity and often look at factors beyond price. Key considerations affecting their decisions are the quality of after-sales service (38.6 percent), the compatibility of devices with current applications (35 percent), price (28 percent) and the ability to run future applications (26.4 percent).
The global financial crisis had some effect on PC purchases, but in most cases that is in the past. In the ASEAN region; 32.5 percent of respondents had already recovered, while 29.8 percent were not affected. Meanwhile, 12.8 percent of respondents even used the crisis to accelerate their strategy by aggressively ramping up on technological investments to pull ahead of their competitors.
“Lenovo has consistently demonstrated the reliability of our hardware and after-sales support,” said Jeerawut Wongpimonporn, Country General Manager, Lenovo Thailand. “According to independent organization Technology Business Research, Lenovo ThinkPad laptops have been ranked #1 in its Corporate IT Buying Behavior and Customer Satisfaction Study for six consecutive reporting periods. This ranking results from solid performance across hardware reliability/quality, ease of doing business, repair time and phone support — all of which are critical factors for corporates as this research indicates.”
Ubiquitous connectivity of devices to data and the cloud an anticipated change
Although respondents are generally aware of new PC technology trends, the most eagerly-anticipated developments in the IT industry are devices that offer ubiquitous connectivity and secure access to data, either through current technologies or the cloud, with a quarter of respondents believing such devices have future implications.
Respondents generally accept that cloud computing will be the way of the future (65.6 percent). However perceptions of engaging the cloud as a public platform remain lukewarm with over seven out of 10 respondents preferring to be responsible for their own processing and data
Jeerawut continued, “Acceptance and usage of cloud computing are in the early stages with cloud adoption at around 20%[2]. However, the Thai Software Industry recently announced it considered cloud computing a priority for software development[3]. Looking to the future, Lenovo will maintain its strategy towards providing a positive overall cloud computing experience, from access devices and middleware to infrastructure and the cloud itself. With the expectation that form factors will change, organizations will eventually have a mix of fat clients and stateless devices[4]. Lenovo will specialize in optimizing PCs to become cloud-ready clients.”
Control, choice and ownership in large organizations
The survey showed a range of PC purchasing policies exist in large organizations, from a centrally-driven decision to adopt a single brand to ensure uniformity and manageability (39.2 percent), to a flexible approach where employees are given a choice between selected PC brands (13.1 percent). However the most flexible arrangement embraces a co-ownership approach by setting aside funds for employees to buy their own PCs (8.2 percent).
Jeerawut adds: “With the impending explosion of alternative devices in the workplace, such as tablets and smartphones, some organizations may test such co-funding schemes in preparation for changes, however the over-riding policy at this stage is for organizations to adopt a single brand.”
Companies migrate towards deploying green procurement policies
According to a report by research firm Gartner, enterprises waste nearly US$4 billion each year powering PCs that are not in use, and that in a large company with more than 2,500 PCs, the lack of a proper power management system to control PC energy consumption can cause the company’s energy consumption to rise by up to 10 times.
The survey reported that almost three-quarters of large organizations have considered or already began mandating green certifications such as GreenGuard, EPEAT and ENERGY STAR in their purchasing policies.
Jeerawut added: “As corporates become more concerned with rising energy costs, Lenovo has made minimizing environmental impact a strategic focus. We have taken a major leap forward with our "Think Green" approach to green computing across multiple areas, including eco-friendly materials selection, creating energy-efficient products, product packaging, transportation and logistics, and product stewardship, including end-of-life disposal, asset recovery and recycling.”
Lenovo was the first company to receive an EPEAT Gold Certification (2006) for a computer monitor and became the first PC maker (2008) to offer a full lineup of EPEAT Gold-rated ThinkVision monitors. Today, all Lenovo ThinkVision monitors meet the latest ENERGY STAR programme requirements. More than 25 of Lenovo’s Think-branded business PCs meet the ENERGY STAR requirements.
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Methodology
This ‘Corporate PC Trends and Buyer Behavior Survey’ was conducted online across Hong Kong, ASEAN, India, the Middle East and Africa, by ZDNet and Connection Research on behalf of Lenovo, between November to December 2010. A total of 956 IT professionals, employed by organizations with a staff strength exceeding 500employees, responded to the survey.
About Lenovo
Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is dedicated to building exceptionally engineered personal computers. Lenovo’s business model is built on innovation, operational efficiency and customer satisfaction as well as a focus on investment in emerging markets. Formed by Lenovo Group’s acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division, the company develops, manufactures and markets reliable, high-quality, secure and easy-to-use technology products and services worldwide. Lenovo has major research centers in Yamato, Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information see www.lenovo.com.
For further press information or pictures please contact:
Sansanee Thongpond
Spark Communications
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Email:
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[1] Commissioned by Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY), and conducted between November and December 2010.
[2] http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/economics/224243/heads-in-the-cloud Source: Springboard research September 2010 survey sponsored by VMWare
[3] http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/economics/221826/a-cloud-appears-on-the-horizon Software Park Director reveals cloud computing as a priority for Thai Software Industry
[4] Fat clients — entire OS on device. Stateless devices — small OS but everything runs on a server.