It may not be obvious to everyone, until they stop and think about it, but the PC market is contracting. Some news portals are giving figures of a contraction of 11% in the 3rd quarter of 2015.

Some of this reduction is driven by business fluctuations in different markets around the world but it is also a long term trend driven by technology. We simple don’t rely on the PC as much as we used to and this is true for business users as well as private users.

This week has seen rumors of three major manufacturers in Japan announcing they may merge their operations in 2016. They are Fujitsu, Toshiba and Vaio, all of who are well known brands in the market, but who only accounted for around 6% of worldwide sales of 308 million PCs in 2014.

Market leaders include Lenovo, HP, Dell and Apple. With tablet sales also down it is believed that the 2-in-1 market will be the next big trend and one that Microsoft has been a strong player in with products such as its Surface Pro range. They are currently pushing the Pro 4 models and most recently announced the highly specified Surface Book, which is not yet shipping in the UK.

So where does this leave your IT buying strategy? It’s going to be hard to predict, but hybrid style 2-in-1 portable devices do seem to be a logical product to consider for many business users. They are highly capable machines now and offer more usage options than any desktop machine for most workers, especially if they are mobile. By converting into a second device they can become presentation aids,  meeting notepads and a tool for field based engineers.

Consider the tasks your team need to undertake carefully, because investing in one of the new hybrids may be a sensible choice for many people. Of course if you need any help, please feel free to give IGC a call.