Technology reshaping the future of PC market in India

The Indian market for personal computers is still in its infancy, but it is set to grow at an exponential rate as more people get connected to the Internet and become aware of the benefits that come with using them. Especially since the pandemic started, we are seeing an increasing number of Indians investing in personal computers in order to access information on the internet and do their work from home or while travelling. Everyone now knows the importance of having a personal computer and the value it adds to our day-to-day lives, given that it is a device that essentially powers our external life from home.

It’s no surprise the market data recently released by the IDC echoed similar sentiments. India’s PC market, which includes desktops, notebooks, and workstations, showcased a shipment growth of 44.5% year-over-year in 2021 while the notebook category, which was the volume driver had shipments reaching a staggering 11.6 million units. The demand for personal computers has been such that even the desktop category reported a 30% YoY growth on the back of increased sales from enterprises, SMBs, education and individual consumers.

The PC market has been experiencing a new era of growth. This phenomenon is being further aided by the introduction of new technologies such as AI (Artificial Intelligence, IoT (Internet of Things), and blockchain among others. These are proving to be key factors responsible for this uptrend in sales.

The increased use of artificial intelligence in various tasks such as voice recognition and natural language processing has resulted in an increase in demand for PCs. This is primarily because AI requires a lot of data to be processed which can be done only on PCs with high-performance processors. Similarly, Internet of Things (IoT) is also playing a key role in the technology industry which is driving the demand for PCs. These are basically devices that communicate with each other without human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction. They are often connected through wireless networks and used for collecting data from physical objects like home appliances, cars, etc., which is then used for predictive analytics, and automation among other things.

Going further no technology discussion can nowadays be complete without mentioning Blockchain. This upcoming technology has been designed as one of the most efficient ways to provide decentralized services where trust and security are almost guaranteed and is therefore being increasingly leveraged across industries such as healthcare, financial services, etc. Being a type of distributed ledger technology (DLT), Blockchains require a network of computers or nodes to become operational and with its real-world application rising by the day, one can safely assume that it is going to be a key factor in the growth of personal computer market in the foreseeable future.

Although PC penetration in India is nowhere near the scale of mobile phones, the industry has witnessed massive growth in the last couple of years and is likely to continue on the same trend with the rise in online work and the growth of online content creators, gamers, and super users. 

The article has been written by Seema Bhatnagar, Regional Business Director, (South Asia) Nexstgo Limited