Japan PC 2006-2010 Forecast and 4Q05 Vendor Shares: User Analysis

This IDC study (which is a translation of the Japanese report IDC #J6020102) analyzes the 4Q05 Japan PC market, sheds light on the current trends, and also provides a market forecast. We also analyze/forecast the trends by company size category. The products covered in this study include x86 servers, desktops, and portable PCs (all product types). The annual data in this study is based on actual market results for the years up to 2005 and based on forecast values for 2006 and beyond. As for quarterly data, the figures pertaining to the period up to 4Q05 (October-December) are actual results while the figures pertaining to 1Q06 (January-March) and beyond are forecast values. All data was updated as of March 2006.

IDC Japan's Personal Computing research analyst, Kosuke Kusano, comments, "The number of units sold in the large business market is plummeting. In contrast, the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) market is gathering momentum and the number of units sold in this market is rising. As an evident trend, vendors have shifted their focus toward the growing SME market to compensate for the downtrend in the large business market. As the number of competing players increases, it is imperative that vendors not only pay attention to price competitiveness, but also identify target users based on objectives/usage to promote their products more effectively."