Lenovo sees SME segment as key growth area

Lenovo is optimistic the small and medium enterprise (SME) segment will continue to be its key growth area next year, despite the expected cautious spending by the segment.

The technology company said a recent Gartner report showed that worldwide personal computers (PC) shipments decreased by 8.3 per cent to 87.5 million units in the third quarter of this year compared with the same period last year.

"However, despite this, the devices segment in the Asia Pacific region next year will be worth a total of US$229.7 billion, up 12.3 per cent from the corresponding 2012 spending," it said in a statement.

Lenovo said the reports reaffirmed various factors that influenced SME spending, including vendors shifting focus towards clearing out inventory in response to the new Windows 8 operating system as well as further streamlining costs.

Country General Manager Khoo Hung Chuan was quoted in the statement as saying the company has grown faster than major PC makers for 11 consecutive quarters and outperformed the industry for 13 consecutive quarters.

"Besides the SME segment, other key growth areas include our strong consumer and enterprise segments," he added.

The demand for personal and business computing devices has increased tremendously, given its important role in participating in today's networked world of business information.

Lenovo said the wholesale distribution for SME remained an untapped future resource for mobility to improve productivity and increase revenue.

"While there are many new devices, essentially they all share the 'heart' of a PC and with that in mind, we will expand our businesses across the four screens of PC, tablet, smartphone and smart television," it added.