Monday Morning Impact – June 12

Canalys Anticipates US PC Market Recovery After plummeting 28% in Q1

PC shipments in the United States declined 28% year-on-year to 14.0 million units in the first quarter of 2023, according to market research by Canalys. Notebook (including mobile workstations) shipments fell 31% to 11.4 million units, while desktop (including desktop workstations) shipments were down 28% to 2.7 million units. Tablets performed better, with shipments dropping just 7% to 10.8 million units, largely driven by Apple’s strong iPad performance.

“A confluence of factors led to the US PC market bottoming out at the start of 2023,” said Ishan Dutt, Principal Analyst at Canalys. “The expected seasonal drop after the holidays coincided with the channel finalizing its inventory correction, resulting in muted sell-in of PCs. On the commercial front, businesses continue to grapple with economic pressures, including three further interest rate hikes since the start of the year. Budget-conscious organizations have extended the life cycle of their existing PCs, with many opting only for critical upgrades.”

Despite the short-term struggle, Canalys anticipates a market recovery on the horizon. US PC shipments in Q4 2023 are expected to grow 6% year-on-year while full-year shipments in 2024 are forecasted to be 13% higher than in 2023.

“There are already positive signs for the industry,” added Dutt. “Inflation has dropped below 5% early in Q2 2023, and there are signals that monetary policy will not tighten further. Business sentiment is improving and commercial demand for PCs is set to re-emerge in the second half of the year. Vendors have reported that end-user device activations rates are relatively strong, which bodes well for shipment volumes once the tail-end of elevated inventories has been worked through. There will be a boost from the education sector during the back-to-school season, mostly benefiting Chromebooks. As we move toward 2024, the transition away from Windows 10 will also become a significant factor for device refreshes. As of Q1 2023, most US channel partners surveyed by Canalys reported that Windows 11 has not yet been a major driver of PC sales. Vendors with broad product portfolios, strong channel management and healthy levels of supply will be well positioned to take advantage of the resurgence in demand.”

Canalys’ PC Analysis service provides quarterly updated shipment data to assess market size and growth opportunities.

Channel Impact^®
The data reflect a mixed bag for the near term, but an opportunity for the channel to be more optimistic moving forward.

D2iQ Launches Kubernetes Management Program for MSPs

D2iQ, a San Francisco-based Kubernetes management platform provider, has rolled out its new Managed Service Provider (MSP) Program.

Given the relative scarcity of Kubernetes talent, the company’s objective is to enable a production-ready, scalable, secure, and easily manageable Kubernetes management platform. Program components include engineering support, co-marketing opportunities, contracting terms that allow for the alignment of licensing around customer contract time frames or batch annual licensing, and flexible billing packages.

“At D2iQ, we are committed to providing enterprises with an intelligent infrastructure that unleashes innovation to stay competitive in this evolving market, and Managed Service Providers play a huge role in helping us achieve this vision,” said Tobi Knaup, co-founder and CEO of D2iQ. “Enterprises use MSPs so they can focus on true innovation in their core business and reach success in a production environment. With the MSP Partner Program, enterprises can leverage our best-in-class Kubernetes management platform while getting the support and services they need from an MSP partner.”

D2iQ’s Managed Service Provider Program is generally available now.

Channel Impact^®
As organizations in every industry sector look to realize the agility, scale, and cost benefits of cloud-native computing and containerized applications, MSPs are tasked with providing the infrastructure and services to enable customers to achieve their modernization goals. The D2iQ MSP program promises to open new revenue opportunities for MSPs to deliver advanced, secure, and feature-rich cloud-native Kubernetes solutions to their customers.

Juniper Networks and ServiceNow Collaborate for Enterprise Network Service Provisioning & Monitoring

Juniper Networks and ServiceNow, have announced a partnership to deliver end-to-end automation for Managed Service Providers and Enterprises. With this newly formed collaboration leveraging Juniper Mist Cloud and ServiceNow Telecom Service Management and Order Management for Telecom, joint customers can eliminate multi-layer, multivendor solutions with the intention of boosting network deployment and operational efficiencies while reducing costs.

As part of the announcement, Juniper Networks joins the ServiceNow Technology Partner Program.

For Managed Service Providers specifically, this collaboration automates a number of manual and multiorganizational workflows such as onboarding customers. Other features include reusable template-based abstractions for simplified network services deployment, end-to-end monitoring and alerts, and proactive auto-ticketing for detection of network and service issues through AIOps.

“By leveraging the power of two industry leaders, Juniper and ServiceNow, we are able to maximize the value of our offerings and drive meaningful value for our Service Provider and Enterprise customers and their customers,” said Sudheer Matta, Group VP of Products at Juniper Networks. “By combining ServiceNow’s powerful service management capabilities with Juniper’s AI-driven network automation, customers can benefit from a comprehensive end-to-end automation solution.”

“As businesses invest in digital transformation to address the complex market environment, they’re looking for proven platforms that orchestrate and automate manual work,” said Rohit Batra, Global GM and VP of Telco, Media, and Technology Industries at ServiceNow. “Together, Juniper Networks and ServiceNow are redefining the possibilities for end-to-end automation by providing both Service Provider and Enterprise customers with a complete set of intelligent tools to streamline operations, improve experiences and lower costs.”

The collaboration between Juniper and ServiceNow builds upon the long-standing relationship between the two companies.

Channel Impact^®
Juniper and ServiceNow are providing a turnkey, AI-driven, closed-loop solution that integrates into OSS/BSS or enterprise management systems for rapid network and services deployments. The combined solution is intended to accelerate time to revenue for Service Providers via automated workflows.