Tech decision makers double down on cloud adoption says new index

The large majority of technology decision makers (84 percent) say their organizations invested in cloud services in 2016. The adoption of cloud services in 2016 is a mirror image of the planned cloud investments expressed in last year’s report.

According to Insight’s 2017 Intelligent Technology Index report, “As IT leaders make decisions and arrangements to straddle the needs of today and tomorrow, cloud services are becoming increasingly popular.”

The survey finds that Software as a Service (57 percent) and Security as a Service (51 percent) continue to be the leading cloud computing models that companies are adopting. Infrastructure as a Service and Disaster Recovery as a Service lag behind, with a 39 and 34 percent adoption rate, respectively.

While only 15 percent have fully migrated their corporate application workloads to public clouds, 47 percent are more than halfway implemented in the cloud, with large and medium companies leading the way.

Companies by size with cloud implemented

Large – 63%
Medium -62%
Small -33%

Companies that did invest in cloud services saw tangible benefits, including:

– A more flexible and collaborative IT environment (61 percent)
– Safer data environment (59 percent): this is increasingly important as 68 percent of respondents say data privacy is their top concern
– Better remote access (55 percent)
– Improved support from providers (48 percent)
– Faster speed to market (36 percent)
– Reduction in capital expenditure fees (35 percent)

“While an on-premise strategy makes sense for many business workloads, cloud computing continues to gain market share. Cloud-based infrastructure allows companies to be extremely nimble and lean, shifting the bulk of operational responsibility to the service provider,” said Mike Gaumond, SVP services at Insight. “However, some companies employ workloads and applications that work better in an on-premise environment, which is why the hybrid cloud model is gaining traction and providing organizations with an integrated approach.”

2017 budget allocations show cloud adoption is a priority

Technology influencers identify security (55 percent) and the cloud (44 percent) as the top two areas in which their IT budgets need to grow. Companies that say they are increasing their 2017 IT budgets as well as companies that are more than halfway implemented in the cloud are significantly more likely to feel that security and the cloud need additional investment.

Marketing (33 percent), sales (33 percent), and mobile (30 percent) comprise the second tier for desired budget growth.

IT infrastructure receives an above average grade

IT professionals give their current IT infrastructure an average grade of “B,” which is a modest uptick from a “B minus” in 2016. However, they still face challenges when it comes to optimization, with upgrading existing hardware and software as the biggest pain point (53 percent), followed by:

– Integration of applications without threatening the core architecture (38 percent)
– Integration of mobile / hybrid devices without threatening the core architecture (34 percent)
– Better visibility into traffic patterns and data management (32 percent)

“IT leaders may be showing improved optimism around their ability to manage their IT infrastructures today, but are also equally as apprehensive about the future,” said Steve Dodenhoff, President of Insight U.S. “In the rapidly changing technology and business landscape, their concerns are valid. They not only need to operate to meet today’s business needs, but they also need to navigate emergent technologies, applications and complex data environments in order to provide a rich and flexible technology ecosystem that enables their organizations to keep pace and drive transformation.”

Survey Methodology

The Intelligent Technology Index, first released in 2016, is a survey conducted on behalf of Insight among a random sample of 401 IT professionals with decision-making responsibilities. Fieldwork was conducted by Market Insights Group between November 28, 2016 and December 7, 2016. The margin of error associated with the sample size of 401 is +/- 4.9% at a 95% confidence level. For this research, small companies are defined as having less than 100 employees; medium companies having 100 to 999 employees; and large companies having 1,000 or more employees.

Xerox’s Ursula Burns retires from the board; new chairman named

Xerox’s annual meeting held Tuesday marked the end of one era in the company’s leadership and the start of another.

For the first time in a number of years, Ursula Burns is no longer a top official with Xerox.

She has been with the company since 1980, and was CEO for several years until late last year when the company split into two separate businesses, one focusing on document technology called Xerox, and the other concentrating on business services, named Conduent.

Burns had still been chairman, but that came to an end at the company’s annual meeting held in Connecticut Tuesday.

“I will see you next year, not as an employee but as large shareholder in Xerox stock. I thank you for all of the support and attentiveness that you’ve paid to our company over the last 38 years,” Burns told the gathering in Norwalk.

At Brighton Securities, George Conboy says he would give Burns a solid ’B’ if asked to give her a letter grade.

“The fact that Xerox is still going, still making profits says there’s been an intense focus on cost control, she hasn’t been everyone’s favorite because she’s cut the headcount, but at the end of the day, the company’s still around, the company’s still making profits, and they’ve got a new change to grow.”

Conboy says Xerox’s stock price didn’t do much while Burns was CEO, but at least the company has stayed in business where others have failed.

Also on Tuesday, Xerox named Robert Keegan as non-executive chairman of the company. Keegan, who is a former CEO of Goodyear,  has been on Xerox’s board since 2010.

And during the annual meeting, Xerox shareholders approved a one-for-four reverse stock split. That split is intended to increase the per share trading price of Xerox common stock and officials say it should improve its liquidity and facilitate its trading.

Get mobile printing up and running: What CIOs need to know

Enterprise workplace infrastructure is changing. Gartner found that total mobile sales into the enterprise globally are greater than 200,000 per year, while PCs are half that. The PC installed base has been on a steady decline since 2014, while the mobile installed base is on the rise – meaning mobile is set to surpass the PC installed base in 2017.

However, even as more employees work from their own devices instead of PCs, and work on the go, they still require a key office capability: the ability to print.

Trillions of pages are printed each year, because workflows still require it; paper remains the universal medium, and tasks like reviewing, proofing and collaboration are easier to do on a hard copy of a document than on a small screen. The 2015 IDC study “Mobile Device Users/Non-Users: Print, Scan, Document Management, Worldwide” predicts that mobile-printed pages are expected to grow approximately 24 percent by 2018, and that business mobile printing is a 2017 focus, with more than 90 percent of business mobile users valuing the ability to print from anywhere.

This means that a company’s mobile/BYOD strategy must include print, because personal devices need to integrate with the office workflow from a functionality perspective – and building in a print strategy lets CIOs ensure that security and assets are not being compromised.

The Fundamentals of Mobile Printing in the Enterprise

Mobile printing is still somewhat in its infancy, relative to desktop printing, and not all network infrastructure enables easy printing. Some solutions work just fine if the network topology is simple, but once it becomes more complex, a more in-depth application may be needed to manage print output.

As BYOD policies took hold in the workplace, many CIOs implemented an enterprise mobility management (EMM) solution to manage mobile devices. VMWare AirWatch, MobileIron, and BlackBerry/Good are all top providers of EMMs, each with their own specialties – for example, BlackBerry is focused on certain verticals, AirWatch has perhaps the largest breadth of installation, MobileIron is driving innovation around access and control, and so on.

Managing printing via individual device may require a similar solution: an enterprise print management solution (EPMS), which could be either based in the cloud or in the enterprise data center. These are commercial solutions that allow users to print in a queue and also provide tracking for cost and security purposes. Often, they provide some sort of release so documents aren’t just floating out to a printer, unmanaged.

These are similar to solutions already used with PCs/desktops as companies have migrated from direct printing from a PC to an intermediate solution that provides increased security and/or access control to documents.

If a company already has an EPMS, many solutions have a module that supports mobile printing; a CIO just needs to set it up, configure it and integrate it with the EMM or mobile device management (MDM) software. Once that’s done, push configurations can be enabled.

If an enterprise does not currently have an EPMS or MDM solution, but wants to implement one for the sake of general security as well as mobile print security, there are multiple solutions that allow mobile printing. Equitrack from Nuance is a more high-end, feature-rich solution, while PaperCut is a more economical solution with a broad set of features.

If one is looking for a solution with cloud and public printing integrated into the enterprise, EFI or PrinterOn may work – the right solution will depend on an individual company, and resellers can help provide direction on the best fit.

Mobile Printing: The Wave of the Future

According to IDC, in 2015, approximately 36 percent of business smartphone users were printing via mobile. IDC predicts that by 2018, that number will skyrocket to 55 percent.

The number of users printing via mobile device will continue to rise throughout the years, making it essential for IT to define policies around all printed material in a company, whether it comes from a company-issued PC or from an employee’s personal device. It is first and foremost a security issue, as well as to provide access and control/management.

Additionally, users will begin to demand this feature, if they aren’t already. Enterprise infrastructure may be changing, but the basic functionalities an employee expects in a workplace remain the same – so just because digital is in doesn’t mean paper is out.

The most important thing to remember is that getting ahead of a mobile print strategy allows you to let it happen on your own terms. Employees may already be printing via their mobile device, or trying to figure out how to, and providing a standard installation that people can use to print, and integrating print into a mobile strategy, will ensure that the capability doesn’t create chaos for CIOs.

Softbank-Saudi tech fund becomes world’s biggest with $ 93 billion of capital

The world’s largest private equity fund, backed by Japan’s Softbank Group and Saudi Arabia’s main sovereign wealth fund, said on Saturday it had raised over $93 billion to invest in technology sectors such as artificial intelligence and robotics. “The next stage of the Information Revolution is under way, and building the businesses that will make this possible will require unprecedented large-scale, long-term investment,” the Softbank Vision Fund said in a statement.

Japanese billionaire Masayoshi Son, chairman of Softbank, a telecommunications and tech investment group, revealed plans for the fund last October and since then it has obtained commitments from some of the world’s most deep-pocketed investors. In addition to Softbank and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), the new fund’s investors include Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment, which has committed $15 billion, Apple Inc, Qualcomm, Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology and Japan’s Sharp Corp. The new fund made its announcement during the visit of President Donald Trump to Riyadh and the signing of tens of billions of dollars worth of business deals between U.S. and Saudi companies. Son was also in Riyadh on Saturday. After meeting with Trump last December, Son pledged $50 billion of investment in the United States that would create 50,000 jobs, a promise Trump claimed was a direct result of his election win. The fund may also serve the interests of Saudi Arabia by helping Riyadh obtain access to foreign technology. The Saudi economy has been severely damaged by low oil prices, and policymakers are trying to diversify into new industries. The PIF signaled an interest in the tech sector last year by investing $3.5 billion in U.S. ride-hailing firm Uber. Saturday’s statement did not say how much the PIF had committed to the fund, but previously it has said it would invest up to $45 billion over five years. Softbank is investing $28 billion. The new fund said it would seek to buy minority and majority interests in both private and public companies, from emerging businesses to established, multi-billion-dollar firms. It expects to obtain preferred access to long-term investment opportunities worth $100 million or more. Other sectors in which the fund may invest include mobile computing, communications infrastructure, computational biology, consumer internet businesses and financial technology. The fund aims for $100 billion of committed capital and expects to complete its money-raising in six months, it added.

HOW TO HANDLE THE SEVEN TOXIC MEETING BEHAVIOURS

Too often business owners tell me they don’t run team meetings because they don’t have time to arrange them and staff don’t have time to attend them. Often, when I dig a bit deeper, the business owner confirms he/she has never attended an effective workplace meeting, doesn’t believe you need an agenda (or know how to set one) and hates having to manage the behaviours of the attendees. It’s simply easier not to have them.

This is a big problem because well run meetings are gold for any business. 

Meetings are an activity that bring staff together to share information, make decisions and solve problems and how well this is done, depends on the interplay of a range of factors. People are complex and their behaviours in groups can be unpredictable.

BE ASSERTIVE – NOT AGGRESSIVE.

Attendees will look to you for examples of acceptable meeting behaviours. Be clear and concise with your directions and remember, your body language and tone of voice communicates information as well as your words. Remain polite, professional and consistent.

TIPS TO STOP THE SEVEN MEETING HIJACKERS:

1. Talkers and whisperers.

Stop the meeting momentarily as all meetings require participants to respect each other’s time and attention. Politely ask them to defer their conversation till after the meeting. If their talking or whispering is about the meeting topic, ask them to share with everyone.

2. People who talk for too long.

Politely break in and thank them for their contribution, then ask others to have input to gain a broader view.

3. Irrelevant interjections.

You can try guiding the interjector back to the subject or overlook their request to talk if you are certain that their comments will be irrelevant. If they persist, remind them of the agenda and the time limitations.

4. People who disagree or argue.

Ask the group whether they think the comments are helpful. Do they agree with the comments being made? Disagreements can lead to new information and different perspectives and this can add great value to a meeting. But only if the information and perspectives are delivered respectfully.

5. People who cling to an idea and won’t move beyond it.

Ask them to keep their comments brief and match their output with contributions from others. Again, remind them of the time limit and if necessary, suggest a post meeting catch up.

6. Inattentive people.

Seek input from the individuals to confirm they are valuable to the meeting process and you require their full attention. If their attention has been unavoidably diverted, make arrangements to bring them up to date during the break or post meeting.

7. Silence.

There are several ways of dealing with this, including backtracking, reintroducing an issue, calling for questions or asking questions of specific individuals. Silence may also mean a break is required. Let people stretch their legs, get some fresh air or enjoy a refreshment.

Effective workplace meetings have one thing in common; they have rules. You don’t need to have formal rules like strict minute taking and quorums etc, but you do need rules around topics, timeframes and behaviours. You cover the topics and the time frame with an agenda and you encourage the correct behaviours by displaying them and addressing the bad behaviours professionally.

 

 

 

Original article by Cate Schreck

Demand for mobile print solutions are on the rise

Understanding the opportunity for mobile printing in the workplace first requires rejecting the notion that the enterprise has abandoned much of its need for printing and paper records. Digital forms and workflows may be reducing the amount of paperwork, yet many organizations still rely on hard-copy contracts, government forms and reports to support business processes – especially in highly regulated fields such as finance and healthcare.

Compliance requirements aren’t the only reason paper continues to thrive in the enterprise. Among some users, paper documents are preferred over digital options. A study conducted by Two Sides U.S., the global organization created to promote the responsible production, use and sustainability of print and paper, found that 88% of respondents believe they understand and can retain or use information better when they read print on paper as compared to electronic devices.

Mobile printing: a growing need

By 2018, the number of employee-owned devices used for work under Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies will exceed one billion, according to Juniper Research. Add to that figure the number of company-issued mobile devices.

While thousands of emails, documents and social posts are distributed and reviewed across smartphones and tablets, employees also require mobile printing solutions in and out of the office to improve their efficiency and productivity. One estimate of the Global Mobile Printing market sees growth at a CAGR of 32.5% over the period 2014-2019.

Research conducted by IDC found that 75% of users consider the business value of mobile printing to be similar to PC printing, and another 15% say it’s even greater. In the office, employees require the ease and convenience of sending a document from their smartphone or tablet to a registered printer or Multi-Function Printer (MFP) on the corporate network. Doing so eliminates the need to send a document to their desktop in order to print from a networked printer.

A cloud-based infrastructure enables users to submit a print request to a registered printer directly from their mobile device or an app as an email attachment or through a web browser. Wi-Fi is another option some companies employ. Enterprise users print over Wi-Fi with direct-to-printer wireless capabilities supported through an app or with print functionality embedded in the device operating system.

When employees are out of the office, the need for printing is not diminished. They may need to meet with customers or prospects remotely to close a deal, review a report or deliver a printed version of their presentation. Optionally, more and more companies are taking advantage of new compact mobile printers to enable field service personnel to capture signatures or to print receipts, work orders and reports.

Next generation needs beyond the workplace

Demand for mobile printing does not solely come from the workplace. While millennials and members of Generation Z spend much of their personal time online, they are not completely detached from the physical world. They use their innate digital savvy to print photos, create mementos for lockers and college dorm rooms, or print out important documents. While Instagram and Facebook are popular channels for photo sharing, the ability to exchange hard copies of pictures with friends and pin them on their walls remains desirable.

Ever-evolving trends in social networking, mobility, and always-on connectivity has prompted printer manufacturers to better match the needs of millennials and Generation Z, introducing the rise of portable printers that enable users to print instantly from their smartphones via Android or iOS apps. Understanding millennial and Gen Z’s desire for personalization, apps can provide frames, texts, stickers and filters to customize photos for sharing or uploading to social media.

Industry alliance advances mobile printing

In response to the growing demand for mobile printing, the non-profit Mopria Alliance was formed in 2013 to promote the use of mobile printing. The organization developed a set of standards to enable printing from Android mobile devices to printers from various manufacturers or brands. The Alliance created the Mopria mark to help users identify devices that are mobile-print ready. Mopria print functionality is embedded in a broad spectrum of smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices, eliminating the need for additional set-up or app downloads.

This February, the Alliance reached a user adoption milestone with more than 500 million installations and 300 million active users, indicating just how important printing from preferred mobile devices is for home and digital workplace needs.

Whether printing documents, photos or web content, today’s mobile users want convenience. It doesn’t get any more convenient than printing anything from anywhere.

 

 

by CHRISTOPH SCHELL, President of the Americas, HP Inc.

Canon Announces uniFLOW Secure Public Print (SPP) License for Konica Minolta Devices

Select Konica Minolta® MFPs are now among devices supported to help enhance customer flexibility

Offering increased versatility through its products, Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, has announced the uniFLOW Secure Public Print (SPP) Device License for Konica Minolta devices. Canon’s award-winning uniFLOW software is a one-platform solution for print, scan, and device management that can work across certain mixed fleet environments. Through the uniFLOW Secure Print applet, which can be embedded into compatible devices¹, customers are provided with a similar user experience across networked MFPs². In addition to certain Konica Minolta devices, the uniFLOW Secure Print applet can also support select MFPs offered by Xerox®, Samsung®, OKI® and others.

“One of Canon’s leading priorities is to provide the end-user with the flexibility that they require to help meet their business needs,” said Toyotsugu Kuwamura, executive vice president and general manager, Business Imaging Solutions Group, Canon U.S.A., Inc. “By opening up the availability of this uniFLOW applet to additional non-Canon devices, we hope to make it easier and more efficient for our customers to extract value from their investment in the uniFLOW solution, regardless of the hardware they may be using in their environment.”

“Organizations must take proactive steps to address security concerns in the print and document infrastructure,” says Robert Palmer, research director, IDC’s Imaging, Printing, and Document Solutions group. “By expanding support for its uniFLOW applet, Canon is helping customers deploy a secure print solution in diverse environments, where cross-platform consistency and compatibility are critical attributes of a strong customer experience.”

Amongst its many capabilities, Canon’s uniFLOW Secure Print applet allows users to send sensitive documents to compatible network printers and MFPs; jobs are held at the uniFLOW server until users authenticate themselves at the device through the entry of network credentials or by swiping their corporate ID card (sold separately). By utilizing this verification method, those printing sensitive documents can help limit confidential documents from ending up in the wrong hands.³

Availability

The uniFLOW Secure Print applet for Konica Minolta is licensed on a per device basis and is immediately available through Canon Solutions America and Canon Authorized Dealers. Prices are set by dealers and may vary.

Umango Receives Konica Minolta bEST Platinum Partner Accreditation

Umango has been awarded the Konica Minolta bEST Platinum Partner accreditation, certifying a seamless integration of Umango Extract with Konica Minolta multi-functional devices (MFDs).

The bizhub Extended Solution Technology (bEST) accreditation certifies applications which provide a seamless interface between Konica Minolta bizhub MFDs (copiers) and software applications residing on a PC or server.

The accreditation is Konica Minolta’s assurance to customers that they can be confident that Umango Extract works as promised.

Umango’s integration with the touch screen of supported MFDs enables a compelling value-add to MFDs and desktop scanners. With features including data capture and file format conversion, Umango is flexible in its ability to export into virtually any back-office system.

“We are pleased to be accredited as bEST Platinum Partners, this signifies the commitment we have to providing best of breed scanning and office automation solutions to Konica Minolta and our over eight year association with Konica Minolta globally,” said Andrew Wade, Umango Head of Global Sales.

“Product differentiation and offering greater capabilities of MFDs are critical to this industry’s success. Umango is one of only a handful of companies that have achieved this premium status. Platinum bEST accreditation assures Konica Minolta and their dealers that Umango is committed to providing excellence in the user experience directly at the MFD,” Andrew concluded.

HP Announces 3D Printer Reseller Program

HP made several announcements related to its 3D printing business at the Rapid + TCT 2017 show being held this week in Pittsburgh.

• New HP 3D Printing reseller program with over 30 partners
• Multi Jet Fusion installations at leading service bureaus
• 3D Printing Reference & Experience Centers in the U.S. and Europe
• Henkel to join the HP Open Materials Platform

 

HP 3D Printer Reseller Program

The most significant news is that HP is rolling out a new 3D printing reseller program. HP traditionally has sold most of its products through distribution, and it should come as no surprise that it plans to develop a global reseller network for its Multi Jet Fusion products. HP will be selling through a two-tier model of distributors and resellers in North America and Europe with some direct sales to very large customers with “transformative” projects.

HP is working with several of its key distributors for office equipment to carry the Multi Jet Fusion product line and related supplies and parts.

• Synnex, based in Freemont, CA, is a $14B distributor that sells 30,000 technology products (active SKUs) to more than 20,000 resellers, system integrators, and retailers throughout the United States, Canada and Japan. HP is Synnex’s largest supplier. Synnex also carries 3D Systems printers.
• Westcoast, based in Reading, UK, is a privately held IT distributor with turnover in excess of £1.6B and over 1,000 employees across multiple sites in the UK and Europe. The company primarily carries IT gear, printers, and supplies (ink, toner). While HP is one of Westcoast’s largest suppliers, the company also carries 3D printers from MakerBot.
• Also International, based in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, specializes in distributing OEM toner and ink cartridges to resellers, office supplies dealers, and retailers. The company claims to be the largest distributor of OEM supplies in Europe.

HP announced 32 authorized resellers across North America and Europe. Most of the resellers are VARs that are deeply focused on the engineering and manufacturing industries. The companies often carry other 3D printer lines (3D Systems and Markforged are most common), CAD and PLM software, and other specialty products and accessories. A few of the companies have an office equipment dealer heritage and have expanded into graphics and 3D printing applications. HP indicated that over 80% of the companies are entirely new to HP.

HP has been focusing on resellers that have service and support capabilities (a requirement) as well as market expertise, existing customers, and physical locations in target geographic areas. HP noted that unlike its open office printer reseller program, the 3D printer program is a “closed model” where resellers serve the installed base they create in terms of equipment, service, parts, and fusing agent.

HP Multi Jet Fusion Service Bureau Customers

Service bureaus provide a critical role in the evolving 3D printing industry as early adopters of technology with innovative business models. HP announced they have placed units with nine specialty service bureaus and large platform players including:

• Forecast 3D
• Proto Labs
• SigmaDesign
• Fast Radius
• Go Proto
• shapeways
• ProtoCAM
• Materialise
• 3D Prod

HP Multi Jet Fusion Reference and Experience Centers

HP announced 11 locations in the U.S. and five locations in Europe where customers and prospects can see the HP Multi Jet Fusion devices in operation and test new 3D printing use-cases before purchasing equipment. These centers are primarily at HP reseller or service bureau locations.

Henkel Joins HP Open Materials Platform

Henkel Adhesive Technologies has joined the HP Open Materials and Applications Platform and will work with HP’s 3D materials lab in Corvallis, OR to develop customized, industry-specific solutions for HP Multi Jet Fusion customers. Henkel joins Arkema, BASF, Evonik, and Lehmann & Voss, to support HP’s platform for 3D printing materials and applications. Henkel has deep expertise in polyamide synthesis and formulation (the primary material used in HP 3D printers), and will be working to develop unique products that take advantage of the Multi Jet Fusion printing process.

Building Momentum

2017 is shaping up to be a critical year for HP and its 3D printer business. The company is actively shipping the Multi Fusion Jet 4200 and 3200 models in all major regions, has rolled out its reseller program in North America and Europe, has added some high profile corporate and service provider accounts, and has expanded its materials partner program.

While HP has extensive experience with the IT, office printer, and graphics reseller communities, it will take time for HP to build its 3D printer reseller base and deeply understand how to manage and drive this channel in terms of territories, market focus, selling model, sales training, promotional support, financing, field service, and other factors. The next key marker of progress will be HP’s rate of product placements and usage volumes over the next six to 12 months.

 

 

 

 

Article by Jeff Hayes

IDC: Tablet shipments decline for tenth straight quarter, Apple drops 13%

Above: The Apple Pencil and the 9.7-inch iPad Pro. Image Credit: Jordan Novet/VentureBeat

The tablet market has now been in decline for 10 quarters in a row. Q1 2017 saw an 8.5 percent year-over-year decline: 36.2 million units shipped worldwide, compared to 39.6 million units in the same quarter last year. The very thin silver lining is that the decline was slightly less than in the previous five quarters, which all saw double-digit drops.

The estimates come from IDC, which counts both slate (declining since 2014) and detachable (slightly up) form factors, meaning tablets with keyboards are included. The top two tablet makers maintained their positions: Apple was first and Samsung second. The top five vendors accounted for 60.2 percent of the market, up from 57.3 percent last year, and nobody managed to ship more than 10 million units:

Apple saw its shipment numbers fall once again and lost 1.3 percentage points in market share as a result. After 13 consecutive quarters of year-over-year shipment declines, the company is back to the numbers it saw in its first year of iPad sales.

Samsung shipped the same number of tablets as a year ago, which meant it ended up gaining 1.3 percentage points. In this quarter, the South Korean gained on its American competitor, which was the case for most of 2016.

Huawei shipped 700,000 more units this quarter, catapulting it into third place, thanks to a 2.3 percentage point jump, ahead of Amazon and Lenovo. It was the only company among the top five to experience growth this past quarter.

Amazon and Lenovo were both flat in shipments, which meant they increased their market share slightly. Nevertheless, all three of these companies are still a far cry from the market leaders.

“As far as most are aware, the tablet market was created in 2010 with the launch of the original iPad, despite unsuccessful product attempts by other OEMs in the years leading up to this,” IDC program president Ryan Reith said in a statement. “The rate at which the tablet market grew from 2010 to 2013 was unlike many other consumer-oriented device markets we’ve seen before. However, it appears for many reasons consumers became less eager to refresh these devices, or in some instances purchase them at all. We continue to believe the leading driver for this was the increased dependency on smartphones, along with rather minimal technology and form factor progression.”

 

 

 

Article by: EMIL PROTALINSKI