Monday Morning Impact – January 22

Published On: January 21, 2024Categories: Buzz

IDC: Worldwide PC Shipments Declined 2.7% Year Over Year in Q4 2023

Global shipments of traditional PCs marginally surpassed expectations in the fourth quarter of 2023 (4Q23) with nearly 67.1 million PCs shipped, down 2.7% from the prior year, according to preliminary results from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker.

Despite the improved results, 4Q23 was the eighth consecutive quarter of year-over-year shipment volume contraction. The holiday quarter shipments also marked the lowest fourth quarter volume since 4Q06, underscoring a market recovering slowly amidst weak demand and reliance on substantial promotions.

On an annual basis, the market has experienced unprecedented consecutive declines, marking a stark departure from historical trends tracked since 1995. In 2022, shipment volume plummeted 16.5% compared to the previous year, and preliminary results suggest an additional 13.9% contraction in 2023 compared to 2022. This downturn, unparalleled in the industry’s recorded history, reflects the aftermath of the significant surge in PC purchases driven by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Across the major technology categories, the PC market has arguably been the biggest roller coaster in terms of ups and downs over the past four years,” said Ryan Reith, group vice president with IDC’s Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers. “While the market was down again in 2023 in terms of shipments, there is a lot of positive momentum for PCs looking forward. While AI has clearly captured everyone’s attention, it shouldn’t be overlooked that 2024 is expected to be a strong year for commercial PC refresh, and the advancements around gaming PCs continues to drive market excitement.”

The top companies in the industry remain largely unchanged, and just like the overall market, they too are experiencing unusual quarterly growth swings, according to the report. The brands that are positioned better within the commercial segment are likely to have more confidence heading into 2024, but technological advances should create opportunities for both commercial and consumer vendors.

Channel Impact^®
The silver lining in all of this is that the PC market contractions appear to have bottomed out and growth is expected in 2024.

IBM Expands Routes to Growth for Partners

IBM has rolled out a new service track in its Partner Plus channel program for IBM-aligned consultancies, advisory firms, systems integrators and MSPs.

Benefits include enhanced partner support, resources to accelerate the co-creation of service offerings, closer alignment among IBM sellers and service partners, including shared KPIs, and new specialized course offerings and badges.

The company claims that every dollar of hybrid cloud platform revenue has a multiplier effect of six to eight dollars in services revenue.

IBM is also working with various service partners including Wipro, NTT Data, TCS, Tech Mahindra and others, to pilot watsonx technology with clients across different use cases, and we’re collaborating with partners as they establish watsonx Centers of Excellence to scale AI-powered client innovations.

Channel Impact^®
This enhancement to Partner Plus is designed to recognize the influence these partners have in driving adoption of IBM’s portfolio in the market and to help accelerate their success.

Nitel Appoints Scott Peterson as Chief Revenue Officer

Nitel, a Chicago-based network-as-a-service provider, announced the appointment of Scott Peterson as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO). In this position, Peterson will be accountable for Nitel’s global revenue growth including its Marketing, Channel and Wholesale Sales organizations, and Customer Success. Peterson brings to Nitel more than 20 years of experience in global channel sales and go-to-market strategy in the telecommunications and networking fields.

“I cannot think of a better way to drive our own revenue success than ensuring we are working hard to make our customers successful,” said Margi Shaw, Nitel’s CEO. Scott “has had a tremendous amount of success building global channel organizations and we can leverage this experience as we continue to reshape and expand Nitel’s presence.”

Peterson comes to Nitel from Extreme Networks where he was SVP of Global Channels since January 2022, responsible for driving growth in Extreme’s global channel program and partner go-to-market strategy. Before joining Extreme, Peterson was EVP and Chief Revenue Officer at Mitel Communications from 2019-21. Prior to Mitel, he enjoyed a 15-year tenure at Verizon, highlighted by executive leadership positions running global P&Ls that included in 2013-2015 global leadership of the Media and Entertainment Vertical (from 2013-2015) and then as VP/GM of the SMB business from. 2016-2018. In this GM role, Peterson’s accountability spanned organizations as large as 2,000 team members (marketing, sales, care, and customer success) and more than $2 billion in annual revenues. Peterson received his MBA from the University of Colorado, a JD (Juris Doctor) from the University of Iowa College of Law, and a BS in Political Science from the University of Iowa.

“Nitel has been doing some interesting things with the business, including the recent announcement around expanding its global capabilities and introducing a comprehensive set of SASE solutions,” Peterson said. “But most of all, I’m happy to be part of an organization where customer and partner success are such an integral element of our growth plans. Helping our business customers win in their marketplace (via a robust channel) is what it’s all about.”

Channel Impact^®
Peterson has more than 20 years of success guiding high-performing technology teams across a variety of vertical practices in more than 25 countries, representing prominent industry brands.

Stay in the Know

Keep tabs on what’s happening in the channel and the impact it will have on the partner community by subscribing to Channel Impact communications.