ru_icon_slider
CONTEXT Research Updates deliver timely insights on key market segments.
-
PCs
-
Displays
-
Imaging
-
Enterprise
-
3D Printing
PC Research update
London, 17 August 2022 – The number of PCs sold declined almost −14% year-on-year in Q2 2022 with sales of mobile computing devices, notebooks, workstations and tablets slumping by −15% and those of desktops by −7%. Despite this, revenue held up well, falling by only −4% which is towards the optimistic end of the range predicted by CONTEXT, the IT market intelligence company.
Displays
London, 06 July 2022 – Worsening performance in the consumer market dragged overall European distributor desktop monitor revenues beneath the index baseline in Week 23 of 2022, according to CONTEXT, the IT market intelligence company.
Imaging
London, 08 September 2022 – Revenue from sales of laser multi-function printers (MFPs) through European distributors have been driving the imaging market in Q3, according to CONTEXT, the IT market intelligence company.
Enterprise
London, 06 September 2022 – Enterprise server and networking revenues from sales through distributors grew strongly in weeks 29–32 this year, and were above both 2020 and 2021 figures, according to CONTEXT, the IT market intelligence company.
3D Printing
Rising prices, divestures and currency fluctuations complicate additive manufacturing industry growth expectations
LONDON, 12 January 2023 – Aggregate 3D Printer unit shipments dropped by -4% during the third quarter of 20221, while systems revenues across the same time period rose by +14%, according to CONTEXT, the market intelligence firm.

Normal PC market conditions to return
London, 17 August 2022 – The number of PCs sold declined almost −14% year-on-year in Q2 2022 with sales of mobile computing devices, notebooks, workstations and tablets slumping by −15% and those of desktops by −7%. Despite this, revenue held up well, falling by only −4% which is towards the optimistic end of the range predicted by CONTEXT, the IT market intelligence company.
The latest CONTEXT Forecasting Report predicts that sales will continue to drop as spending on mobile devices returns to normal after the pandemic and the geopolitical situation continues to have an impact. CONTEXT expects education and consumer demand to be significantly lower than last year, which matters because education was particularly strong in 2021. Business sales will also suffer but to a smaller extent. While supply has greatly improved over the first half of this year – and will continue to do so – it is not expected to recover fully.
CONTEXT notes an excess of entry-level stock in the business and consumer markets so expects distributors to reduce prices to try and move stock out, as they did at the end of Q2. At the same time, there are still product gaps at the high end of the business market – thanks to missing components and logistics difficulties – which are making planning difficult and uncertain for many companies.
Even so, the assumption is that growth in the second half of this year will be better than in the first half because of an easier year-on-year comparison and the fact that at least some excess stock will be sold out.
Pessimistic scenario
Confidence and demand are low and mobile computing stock levels remain high, making sell-through harder. There are only isolated pockets of growth and any investment goes to mobile, rather than desktop computing.
Optimistic scenario
Demand improves as offices reopen, although it remains susceptible to pricing of mobile computing devices. Supply at the high end of this market segment improves and momentum builds as desktop installations are refreshed.
PC units sales drop in Q2 but revenues stronger
London, 28 July 2022 – Unit sales of mobile and desktop PCs through European distributors fell sharply in Q2 2022 (by −15% and −7% year-on-year, respectively) as demand weakened, according to CONTEXT, the IT market intelligence company.
London, 28 July 2022 – Unit sales of mobile and desktop PCs through European distributors fell sharply in Q2 2022 (by −15% and −7% year-on-year, respectively) as demand weakened, according to CONTEXT, the IT market intelligence company.
Revenues, however, were not so badly affected, dropping only −4% for mobile computers and staying flat for desktops. As in previous quarters, revenues benefitted from a rise in average sell prices resulting from price increases and changes in the product mix.
One driver for the drop in demand is the market getting back to ‘normal’ after high sales of mobile PCs at the start of the pandemic. High inflation and energy prices, and uncertainty due to the war in Ukraine, are also weighing on both businesses and consumers, putting additional pressure on a market already in decline.
With supply challenges having improved a great deal since the start of the year, demand is, in some cases, now more important than supply. In fact, in many countries there is excess stock– especially of computers aimed at consumers, education and entry-level business buyers. Given the current economic picture, distributors are having a hard time flushing this out, even with aggressive price promotions. Although supply is improving, component shortages, Covid-related factory closures in Asia and container-ship jams are still causing problems for high-end commercial products.
Focus on notebooks
In the business segment, the general decline in notebook sales over Q2 2022 improved towards the end of the quarter. While the situation varies by country, businesses are, on the whole, increasingly nervous about the economic picture and are trying to minimise the impact of cost increases on cash flow. That means upgrading of devices is being pushed down the priority list, especially as there were many upgrades during the pandemic and many smaller businesses are still recovering from that crisis.
In the consumer market, the quarter has also been weak overall even though a push at the end offset this to some extent. However, OECD figures suggest consumer confidence in the top five western European countries is now lower than it was at the start of 2020.
Chromebooks performed well last year at times when supply improved and education projects came through. Apple also had a strong end to 2021 and start of 2022, driven by the popularity of its M1-based products. Distributor sales of both slid in Q2 – apart from the uptick at the end of the quarter noted above. In Apple’s case, this is because of component availability issues (due to Asian factory closures) and because it is shifting some of its business away from the channel and towards direct selling. For Chrome, the steep decline is down to a dearth of the large-scale education projects that boosted sales last year in countries like the UK, Italy and Spain. Windows was, therefore, in a dominant position in Q2 with revenues not far below 2021 levels.
PC revenue performance declines in Q2 as geopolitical uncertainty bites
London, 28 June 2022 – PC revenue sales through European distributors have trended down in Q2 2022 to date due to the strength of the market last year, rising costs and geopolitical uncertainty, according to CONTEXT, the IT market intelligence company.
London, 28 June 2022 – PC revenue sales through European distributors have trended down in Q2 2022 to date due to the strength of the market last year, rising costs and geopolitical uncertainty, according to CONTEXT, the IT market intelligence company.
CONTEXT’s latest data shows revenue down −13% year-on-year in April and May for notebooks and −5% for desktops.
Falling demand
The decline in revenue across the region is the result of several factors. One is the strong baseline for sales in the same period a year ago. Over 2020 and 2021 the market was supply driven but it is now shifting to a place where demand is a more important factor. That’s not to say there are no challenges on the supply side. Logistics costs are being exacerbated by Covid lockdowns in Asia and the war in Ukraine. The feedback from our partners is that while there is still sometimes a shortage of supply for specific business product ranges, overall availability has greatly improved - in some markets to an extent where we now have an excess of product supply.
Demand has fallen in both consumer and business segments, although the drop in the latter has been softer over recent weeks. Hybrid working is still the number one driver of business sales but it is less urgent and focused only on certain products. Meanwhile, rising energy prices and living costs are impacting consumer confidence and this market is also suffering from a certain amount of saturation.
Country by country
Most major European countries have recorded decreases in revenue, although the extent of the decline varies. Germany is among the countries that have seen a weak performance, and we’re hearing that OEMs there are trying to combat falling demand with aggressive pricing. In fact, Germany is the only top Western European country where the average selling price of PCs has dropped between Q1 and Q2 2022. Elsewhere, in countries like Spain, retail and SMB revenues are shrinking while corporate sales are holding up. In the UK, the decrease in revenues is less acute than in other countries due to strong commercial performance, although the consumer market here has also seen signs of softening demand.
However, there are positives. We’re still optimistic about the PC market in the mid to long term. There’s a larger base of installed machines that will need renewal and those in some sectors, such as education, may need faster upgrades. Hybrid working in the business sector continues to drive demand for some products, and Windows 11 migration and new processor launches are also likely to have a positive impact.

Consumer slump pulls desktop monitor revenue under 2021 average
London, 06 July 2022 – Worsening performance in the consumer market dragged overall European distributor desktop monitor revenues beneath the index baseline in Week 23 of 2022, according to CONTEXT, the IT market intelligence company.
CONTEXT’s Revenue Trend Index (RTI) plots performance against a 100 baseline representing the average weekly revenue in 2021. In Week 23, the RTI for monitor revenues overall was just under the baseline but that for consumer sales was more than −80 points below it. However, the business market continued to perform well, standing at just under 120 on the index. The backstory is one of continuing business demand, as offices reopen and are refurbished following the pandemic, while inflation and cost-of-living challenges depress the consumer market.
As the summer continues, consumers are likely to spend less money on technology hardware and more on holidays and other experiences. A rebound in the desktop monitor market is, therefore, unlikely to happen before the autumn – if there is one at all.
Countries and channels
The breakdown by sales channel tells a similar story. Corporate resellers are performing better than other distributors, with an RTI of around 120 for Week 23, thanks to demand for kit to upgrade offices. Small and medium resellers are also above the baseline; retail chains and business etailers are slightly under but consumer-focused etailers are stuck on −80.
France was leading the charge earlier in 2022 but, as of around Week 21, revenues had converged with those in most other countries and were just under the baseline in the range 0 to −90. Italy is something of an outlier, currently tracking at under −80. CONTEXT research shows that it is due to a sharp decline in consumer demand as cost-of-living increases bite hard.
All eyes on docking monitors
The same market dynamics can be seen in the breakdown of revenue performance by monitor purpose. Gaming (−80) and graphics (−50) monitors have sat under the baseline for most of the year, while docking monitors are soaring above it with the RTI standing at over 200 in Week 23. These monitors feature USB charging and ethernet capabilities making them ideal for hot-desking environments. As firms begin to embrace hybrid working, strong business demand is ensuring that most of the innovation in the market is currently happening in this niche and helping to push up Average Selling Prices (ASPs). Companies with workers splitting their time between home and the office are prepared to spend on more feature-rich models that focus on ease-of-use and connectivity, as they need to invest in fewer units.
Despite rising inflation, ASPs in the consumer space have fallen from a high of €184–5 at the start of 2022 to €180 in May. Meanwhile, ASPs for business desktop monitors rose from €204 in January to €215 in April, before falling back to €205 a month later. Rising ASPs reflect the demand for docking and feature-complete monitors, as do lower unit sales. These trends are broadly expected to continue over the course of the summer.
Monitors and LFDs set for double-digit year-on-year revenue growth in Q2 2022
London, 28 June 2022 – Anticipation of a bumper summer of events could drive growth in revenues from sales of large-format displays (LFDs) as high as 35% year-on-year in Q2, according to CONTEXT, the IT market intelligence company.
London, 28 June 2022 – Anticipation of a bumper summer of events could drive growth in revenues from sales of large-format displays (LFDs) as high as 35% year-on-year in Q2, according to CONTEXT, the IT market intelligence company.
CONTEXT’s latest IT channel briefing report discusses factors that have affected sales of monitors and LFDs through European distributors, including the aftershocks of the pandemic that will continue to have an impact for the rest of the year.
Growth in the consumer market is negative for the first time in 24 months as gamers and other would-be buyers spend their money on other things, leading to a supply glut. In the coming months, rising inflation may also begin to reduce consumer demand. As offices reopen, it is the commercial market which is driving overall sales – although supply chain issues, component availability and expensive logistics costs are still pushing up prices and delaying lead times.
There is little innovation in the consumer market: higher resolutions, bigger screens and higher refresh rates account for most of the changes in new models. On the business side, manufacturers are looking at products such as USB-C docking monitors to support the new trend for hybrid working.
The numbers for Q2
The good news is that revenue from displays and LFDs is likely to grow by double digits in Q2 even with unit sales stumbling. A pessimistic forecast – based on a scenario where component shortages persist into the second half of the year, consumer demand declines significantly, lead times increase and ASPs drop as demand for gaming monitors sinks – would see unit sales of monitors decline by 6.7% year-on-year in Q2 2022 but revenue increase 14.3% over the same period. For LFDs there’s a brighter forecast: unit sales growing by 22.4% and revenue sales surging by 24.8%.
CONTEXT’s optimistic scenario assumes an increase in the availability of business products, recovering consumer demand and the product mix shifting towards more expensive models. That would see unit sales of displays grow by 1.2% year-on-year in Q2 and revenues by 22.7%. For LFDs, the positive scenario also means a tilt towards more expensive products as the impact of the pandemic reduces and the prospect of summer events encourages more investment. Should that happen, CONTEXT predicts unit sales increasing 33% and revenue growth hitting 34.9%.
Enterprise networking revenues look set for double-digit Q2 growth
London, 28 June 2022 – Anticipation of a bumper summer of events could drive growth in revenues from sales of large-format displays (LFDs) as high as 35% year-on-year in Q2, according to CONTEXT, the IT market intelligence company.
London, 28 June 2022 – Anticipation of a bumper summer of events could drive growth in revenues from sales of large-format displays (LFDs) as high as 35% year-on-year in Q2, according to CONTEXT, the IT market intelligence company.
CONTEXT’s latest IT channel briefing report discusses factors that have affected sales of monitors and LFDs through European distributors, including the aftershocks of the pandemic that will continue to have an impact for the rest of the year.
Growth in the consumer market is negative for the first time in 24 months as gamers and other would-be buyers spend their money on other things, leading to a supply glut. In the coming months, rising inflation may also begin to reduce consumer demand. As offices reopen, it is the commercial market which is driving overall sales – although supply chain issues, component availability and expensive logistics costs are still pushing up prices and delaying lead times.
There is little innovation in the consumer market: higher resolutions, bigger screens and higher refresh rates account for most of the changes in new models. On the business side, manufacturers are looking at products such as USB-C docking monitors to support the new trend for hybrid working.
The numbers for Q2
The good news is that revenue from displays and LFDs is likely to grow by double digits in Q2 even with unit sales stumbling. A pessimistic forecast – based on a scenario where component shortages persist into the second half of the year, consumer demand declines significantly, lead times increase and ASPs drop as demand for gaming monitors sinks – would see unit sales of monitors decline by 6.7% year-on-year in Q2 2022 but revenue increase 14.3% over the same period. For LFDs there’s a brighter forecast: unit sales growing by 22.4% and revenue sales surging by 24.8%.
CONTEXT’s optimistic scenario assumes an increase in the availability of business products, recovering consumer demand and the product mix shifting towards more expensive models. That would see unit sales of displays grow by 1.2% year-on-year in Q2 and revenues by 22.7%. For LFDs, the positive scenario also means a tilt towards more expensive products as the impact of the pandemic reduces and the prospect of summer events encourages more investment. Should that happen, CONTEXT predicts unit sales increasing 33% and revenue growth hitting 34.9%.

Laser MFP revenues rebound in Q3 2022
London, 08 September 2022 – Revenue from sales of laser multi-function printers (MFPs) through European distributors have been driving the imaging market in Q3, according to CONTEXT, the IT market intelligence company.
CONTEXT’s depth of data enables it to offer unique analyses of the European IT distribution channel. Its Revenue Trend Index (RTI) plots performance using the 2021 average weekly revenue as a baseline which is assigned a value of 100. It shows 2022 business printer sales peaking in Week 30 with an index score of around 115 thanks to demand from public tenders, the opening of new offices and office refurbishments in several countries.
High-end laser devices, in particular MFPs, were behind much of this increase: revenues from inkjet MFPs and single-function printers (SFPs) were below the baseline. Laser MFP revenues began to rise above the index baseline in Week 28 and reached a value of 125 in Week 30. Although this has since fallen, revenues from the category remain well above the baseline and have also outperformed the same period in 2020.
ASP increases drive revenue growth
Business sales of laser devices rebounded in most major European countries, with performance in Germany, Italy and Poland being particularly strong due to solid sales of both mid- and high-end devices. This pattern indicates strong demand from organisations small and large.
Price increases and a shift in product mix have helped to keep revenues growing. Vendor list prices and distributor Average Selling Prices (ASPs) for models aimed at consumers and businesses rose steadily during August with vendor Average List Prices reaching nearly €124 for consumer printers and € 555 for business devices at the end of the month. Increased sales of high-end consumer devices contributed to rising distributor ASPs after the June/July slump caused by promotional offers to clear excess stock of entry-level printers.
Printer hardware decline set to continue
London, 25 August 2022 – Unit sales of print hardware declined sharply year-on-year in Q2 2022 with lower demand, especially for consumer printers, and falling sales of entry-level and high-end business printers, according to CONTEXT, the market intelligence company..
London, 25 August 2022 – Unit sales of print hardware declined sharply year-on-year in Q2 2022 with lower demand, especially for consumer printers, and falling sales of entry-level and high-end business printers, according to CONTEXT, the market intelligence company.
Revenues held up a little better, due to increased Average Selling Prices (ASPs), sales of more expensive consumer models and the purchase of mid- to high-priced business devices for newly reopened offices. Both figures were very close to the forecast made in CONTEXT’s Q2 forecasting report.
Declining ink cartridge sales led to a sharp drop (of 18%) in unit sales of consumables but a lower fall (only 7%) in revenues from this sector of the market. CONTEXT’s pessimistic-scenario forecast was spot on in terms of these revenues, although sales were significantly worse than anticipated.
Demand is softening as life returns to ‘normal’ after the pandemic. Markets are approaching saturation, there is no longer the urgency created by the crisis, and high inflation is sapping consumer demand. However, promotions designed to reduce inventory excess are likely to support sales of consumer devices during Q4 and into the beginning of next year, according to the CONTEXT Forecasting Report Q3 2022.
Individuals and organisations are choosing products more carefully, and distributors and vendors are focusing on growing sales to businesses, particularly Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs). Although ink sales are falling, toner sales are increasing thanks to the return to the office which will be the main driver of the printer market for the rest of the year and during the first half of 2023. This return could also mean Managed Print Services are primed for a comeback over the next six to twelve months.
The supply chain is still a key factor. While overall demand is declining slightly and supply is improving (meaning that backlogs which CONTEXT has seen building up in the last year are getting smaller), high-end multifunction business printers are still being hit by delays that are expected to last until at least the end of the year. Global shortages have left businesses competing for the same raw materials, and some key components remain in short supply. The combination of price increases, supply pressures and continuing transportation issues will not be alleviated anytime soon.
A potential vendor shift to other go-to-market routes, including online sales (either directly or through resellers) is likely to have an impact on distributors.
Finally, growing environmental concerns leading to public- and private-sector adoption of paperless policies are having a negative impact on the printer industry, and this will only build over the years to come.
Inkjet printer revenues rebound on high-end consumer and business sales
London, 26 July 2022 – Revenues from sales of inkjet multifunction printers (MFPs) through European distributors have surged in recent weeks, but not enough to result in year-on-year growth in printer sales for Q2 2022, according to CONTEXT, the IT market intelligence company.
London, 26 July 2022 – Revenues from sales of inkjet multifunction printers (MFPs) through European distributors have surged in recent weeks, but not enough to result in year-on-year growth in printer sales for Q2 2022, according to CONTEXT, the IT market intelligence company.
Although revenues from almost all types of printer were higher in May 2022 than in May 2021, overall revenues fell year-on-year in the second quarter. Higher Average Selling Prices (ASPs), and a different product mix, meant revenues dropped more slowly than unit sales. There were increased sales of high-end consumer printers and mid- and high-end business devices, the latter due partly to office re-openings.
Inkjet MFP sales have also benefited from the scarcity of certain laser printer models and revenues have stood above the 100 baseline on the CONTEXT Revenue Trend Index (RTI) since Week 25 of 2022. (The baseline is the weekly average revenue for 2021.) Supply issues that were still having an impact at the start of this year are being addressed, order backlogs are clearing and, at the same time, there is substantially increased demand from the public sector. This is good news for the market as inkjet MFPs account for over 70% of sales by volume and almost 50% by revenue.
A4 inkjet printers have recently had a greater effect on revenues than A3 models with small businesses in particular looking for high-end consumer and business devices. As a result, this specific part of the market was above 100 on CONTEXT’s RTI in Week 26.
The recent rebound in inkjet cartridge printer sales, particularly those for multifunction devices, has been seen across most major European markets but is particularly strong in Germany and Italy. Revenues have surged in these countries since Week 22 due to solid sales of high-end consumer and business printers. As a result, printer revenues in Germany from this category are following the same trajectory as last year, significantly exceeding revenues from 2020 and standing well above 100 on CONTEXT’s RTI. The same is true in Italy thanks to distributors beginning to ship 100,000 A4 multifunction printers as part of a €55m public tender. The trend is set to continue over the coming weeks with the delivery of further batches of machines for the same project.
Consumer market reaches saturation point
The consumer market appears to be saturated: there has been a dramatic decline in unit sales of entry-level printers over recent weeks. However, consumer revenue fell at a much slower rate thanks to the price increases brought about by continuing shortages of raw materials and components and higher logistics costs, and the product mix leaning towards high-end printers.
Demand for entry-level business printers has also fallen, leading to a year-on-year revenue drop of −9% in Q2 2022. Rising sales of mid- and high-end business devices helped cushion this so revenues from business-targeted printers overall declined by just −5%.
Unit sales of consumables also fell sharply in the second quarter (down by −18%) with declining sales of ink cartridges having a major impact. Here too, revenue dropped at a much slower rate (−7%) due to increased sales of expensive toners for business laser printers.
The Q2 2022 figures for volume sales of consumables are significantly worse than anticipated, even in the pessimistic scenario of the CONTEXT Forecasting Report - Q2 2022, although the revenue based on the same situation was exactly in line with the forecast. Conversely, when it comes to hardware, the Q2 figures for unit sales and revenues were very close to CONTEXT's optimistic forecasts.

Enterprise server and networking revenues strong in Q3
London, 06 September 2022 – Enterprise server and networking revenues from sales through distributors grew strongly in weeks 29–32 this year, and were above both 2020 and 2021 figures, according to CONTEXT, the IT market intelligence company.
The latest CONTEXT Revenue Trend Index (RTI) shows how various categories fare against their average four-week revenue in 2021. This baseline value is assigned a value of 100.
By this measure, enterprise networking is clearly out in front, with an index score of over 140, and servers follow with 115. Uninterrupted Power Supply “UPS” sits just above the baseline, while storage and security are just beneath it. Consumer networking revenues are some way below the 2021 average with a score of around 80.
It is clear from the Revenue Trend Index (RTI) that server and storage revenues have, to a large extent, followed the trendlines of the previous two years. However, networking has bucked the trend and revenues have been rising rapidly since around Week 25.
Despite the recent poor performance of storage, combined revenues from enterprise categories (excluding security) increased across most of the top five European markets and some smaller countries. UK and Ireland was a notable exception.
Focus on servers and networking
Revenues from both server hardware and server software have grown +11% year-on-year. Even though unit sales declined by −15%, things are beginning to improve after a tough two and a half year decline.
Server revenues for the entire first half of 2022 were generally higher than in 2021, with France the only top-five country seeing a year-on-year decrease. However, unit sales declined significantly in Germany, France and Italy – only Spain managed to increase them.
Enterprise networking has no such issues: recent growth has been large and sustained. The +35% year-on-year increase during Weeks 29–32 was driven by wireless revenues, which grew by 50%. This category has been performing well since December 2021 as businesses across Western Europe move to Wi-Fi 6.
Enterprise infrastructure revenue in decline in Weeks 21–24
London, 19 July 2022 – European distributor revenue from sales of enterprise infrastructure declined during Weeks 21–24 of 2022 with servers falling most, according to CONTEXT, the IT market intelligence company.
London, 19 July 2022 – European distributor revenue from sales of enterprise infrastructure declined during Weeks 21–24 of 2022 with servers falling most, according to CONTEXT, the IT market intelligence company.
The latest CONTEXT view from the Revenue Trend Index (RTI) plots performance against a baseline where 100 represents the average four-week revenue for 2021.
It reveals that, across Europe, server, storage and networking sales over Weeks 21–24 have been trending similarly to the same period over the last two years. However, server revenues dipped around Week 19 and, as of Week 24, they sat at around 70 (-30 under the index baseline). CONTEXT expects to see some reversal in fortunes over the coming weeks as component issues are ironed out.
The networking category has been performing well since the start of the year, even reaching 120 on the index before a more recent fall: in Week 24, the RTI for networking was around −90 (10 below the baseline). Storage revenues, on the other hand, have been running closer to the 2021 trend. They crossed below the baseline around Week 17.
Driven by the need for faster speeds and more bandwidth, enterprises are adopting WiFi 6 access points with gusto. Revenues from sales of these exceed those of the past two years .
Considering the top five countries as a whole, networking revenues for Weeks 21–24 are up on the same period in 2020 and just shy of 2021 figures. There were slight year-on-year falls in revenue in Germany (−5%) and the UK (−3%) but growth in France (+3%) Italy (+4%) and Spain (+2%).
In most of the top five markets, revenues from switching products have declined towards 2020 levels in recent weeks. Only in Italy are they above those in 2020 and 2021, and Spain is the only market on a growth path.
Over the past two years, Enterprise flash arrays have benefitted from growing market acceptance and maturity, leading to +23% year-on-year revenue growth in Weeks 21–24. Performance was strongest in Germany (+37%), France (+34%) and the UK (+8%), with just inched into growth in Spain (1%), leaving Italy, which recorded –11% growth, as an outlier – although we expect things there to turn around in time, as logistics and supply improve as well as faster new technology gets adopted.
Enterprise storage revenues could exceed 3% in Q2 2022
London, 13 June 2022 – Revenue from sales of storage hardware through European distributors could benefit from new market trends to reach year-on-year growth of 3.2% in Q2 2022, according to the latest figures from CONTEXT, the IT market intelligence company.
London, 13 June 2022 – Revenue from sales of storage hardware through European distributors could benefit from new market trends to reach year-on-year growth of 3.2% in Q2 2022, according to the latest figures from CONTEXT, the IT market intelligence company.
CONTEXT’s latest market predictions for enterprise storage and servers take into account the optimism of vendors who have largely been addressing component availability challenges and are upbeat about the coming year. Distributors and resellers are also keen to draw attention to the potential impact of digitization projects that are now on the horizon and the transition to faster, more powerful chips.
That said, availability of offerings with improved memory configuration is still an issue, and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine may also take its toll.
Two scenarios
As always, CONTEXT has considered two possible scenarios for growth in Q2 and beyond.
In the worst-case outlook, product availability issues continue, as a result of lockdowns in China, while supply constraints remain; the war in Ukraine creates further uncertainty and cloud adoption does not translate into major sales for the sector. This scenario would lead to year-on-year decreases in sales of servers (predicted to fall by 1.1%) and storage (2.2%) in Q2 2022.
However, a more optimistic picture sees an improvement in storage array sales (thanks to newer technology and improved availability) as well as the impacts of product upgrades, refreshes and continued hybrid working overcoming that of lingering component availability issues. These conditions are likely to result in year-on-year revenue growth of 1.4% for enterprise servers and 3.2% for the storage in Q2 2022.

Quarterly 3D Printer Revenues Rise, Unit Shipments Slow as Worldwide Markets React to Inflation
full content in research-updates/3d_printing page
Quarterly global Industrial 3D printer shipments see diverging trends
Weaker shipments of polymer systems in Covid-hit Shanghai pull down Global Industrial category totals; metal printer shipments continue to rise however thanks in part to surging demand from aerospace
LONDON, 18 October 2022 – Just as the Industrial* 3D printing industry seemed to have fully recovered from the pandemic and begun to accelerate, reduced domestic China shipments, directly related to regional Covid flareups, pulled-down global shipments of Industrial 3D printer systems in the second quarter of 2022, according to CONTEXT, the IT market intelligence company. Other lingering Covid-induced issues in the west – including continued supply-chain problems and global inflation – also challenged printer system vendors around the world.
full content in research-updates/3d_printing page
Quarterly industrial 3D printer shipments accelerate in US and Western Europe as market remains confident of robust full-year growth
Strong order books keep expectations of global growth over the full year high in spite of Covid-induced slowdowns in China
LONDON, 14 July 2022 – In a total reversal of trends seen during pandemic lockdowns in 2020, shipments of the highest-end 3D printers were on the rise and accelerating in Q1 2022 while shipments of consumer-centric systems were down and decelerating, according to the latest by CONTEXT, the market intelligence company.
full content in research-updates/3d_printing page
ru_form
Receive the latest Research Updates in your inbox
ru_channel
Research Updates are drawn from CONTEXT’s full suite of analysis tools covering the whole technology supply chain.
-
Market Intelligence
Position yourself in the competitive landscape
+ Track units, sales, revenues and pricing
+ Size the Total Available Market
+ Analyse routes to market
Find out more -
Business Analytics
Set targets, take action and measure results
+ Define your strategic market point of view
+ Take fact based decisions
+ Assess results at each stage of the value chain
Find out more