April 2017

APAC / April 2017 5 NEWS , The previous fore- cast had expected shipments to decline 1.8% in the quarter. And, while the 0.6% growth was arguably flat, the re- sult nonetheless represented the first foray back into positive terri- tory since Q2 2012, when many users still considered PCs their first computing device. Like the second half of 2016, some of the same forces con- tinue to shape the market. Tight supplies of key components such as NAND and DRAM are affect- ing inventory dynamics and led a number of vendors to boost shipments to lock in supply ahead of further cost increases. In addi- tion, the market continued along a path of stabilisation that began in the latter half of last year, es- pecially as more commercial pro- jects moved out of pilot mode and began shipments in earnest. From a geographic perspective, mature markets again outdid emerging markets. All regions exceeded forecast except for the United States, although the U.S. posted just a slight decline. Despite the generally positive trends, Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) (APeJ) and Latin America continued to see year-over-year volume declines. “The traditional PC market has been through a tough phase, with competition from tablets and smartphones as well as length- ening lifecycles pushing PC ship- ments down roughly 30% from a peak in 2011,” said Jay Chou, research manager, IDC PCD Tracker. “Nevertheless, users have generally delayed PC re- placements rather than giving up PCs for other devices. The com- mercial market is beginning a re- Leveraging the com- pany’s Realex ecom- merce technology, the platform provides a range of cloud- based, software enabled technol- ogy services for both large and mid-sized businesses to enable them to accept payments online, as well as via phone, mail, email or mobile devices. This new offering by Global Pay- ments offers merchants mobile optimisation and digital wallet support, consolidated payment acceptance, batch and recurring payment solutions, as well as enhanced fraud tools and ana- lytics. With a range of integration options, merchants can be up and running in as little as five minutes and can leverage the hosted pay- ment solution to help reduce PCI compliance requirements. The solution is pre-integrated with a wide range of platforms and shop- ping carts for a fast and seamless set-up across multiple payment channels. “As we continue to broaden our selection of innovative payment solutions, we’re pleased to of- fer Canadian businesses an enhanced ecommerce solution with a new suite of leading pay- ment functionality,” said René Bélanger, President of Global Payments Canada. “We are of- fering customers a flexible and customisable, easy-to-integrate payment management solution, designed to help them grow their businesses.” “We are thrilled to expand our ecommerce capabilities, address- ing both simple and complex payment requirements in Canada and further enhancing our region- al ecommerce and omnichannel offerings,” said Jeffrey Burke, President of Worldwide Ecom- merce for Global Payments. “The expansion of the Realex ecommerce technology to Can- ada, and other major markets around the world, allows our cus- tomers the unique opportunity to leverage Global Payments’ un- matched worldwide presence to enter new markets and expand their global businesses.” www.globalpaymentsinc.com Global Payments Launches Enhanced Ecommerce Offering in Canada Worldwide shipments of traditional PCs (desktop, notebook, workstation) totalled 60.3 million units in the first quarter of 2017 (1Q17), posting year-over-year growth of 0.6%, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker. Global Payments Inc., a leading worldwide provider of payment technology services, announced the launch of an enhanced ecommerce payments management offering for Canada. N placement cycle that should drive growth throughout the forecast. Consumer demand will remain under pressure, although growth in segments like PC Gaming as well as rising saturation of tablets and smartphones will move the consumer market toward stabili- sation as well.” “The U.S. PC market had a weak opening quarter for the year with the consumer PC segment failing to impress after doing fairly well in the previous quarter,” said Neha Mahajan, senior research ana- lyst, Devices & Displays. “Apart from factors such as relatively improved commercial PC perfor- mance as well as a few compo- nent shortages, which continued to add to a better inventory situa- tion, the overall PC performance for the quarter remained fairly sublime.” In the Asia Pacific region (ex- cluding Japan), the APeJ market remained soft. Weakness in the consumer market persisted, as demand and shipments in many countries were impacted by price increases fuelled by tight compo- nent supply. The pricing pressure was felt in the Chinese consumer market despite continuing strong demand for gaming and ultra slim notebooks. The commercial market in China performed better, driven by demand in the public sector. The education segment drove shipments in the commer- cial space, with several projects delivered throughout the region. India saw a rebound after the demonetisation severely affected the market in the previous quarter while the back-to-school season allowed for healthy volumes in Korea.