Connect with us

E-Business

Nigeria Currency Issues, Others Affecting PC Market Growth in MEA – IDC

Published

on

IDC_logo.jpg
Kindly share this post

“IDC’s forecast for the MEA PC market has been revised downwards owing to a range of factors that are expected to cause the regional PC market to decline over the coming two quarters,” says Fouad Charakla, senior research manager for client devices at IDC MEA.

“These vary from country to country, but primarily include currency issues, which are affecting key markets such as Nigeria, Egypt, Turkey, and South Africa, and the constriction of government initiatives caused by low crude oil prices. Such factors are expected to lead to project delays or even cancellations across the GCC, as well as in Nigeria and other African countries.”

With the above-mentioned macroeconomic inhibitors expected to persist beyond this year, IDC does not predict any significant overall improvement in PC shipments in 2017.

In 2018 and beyond, however, MEA markets are expected to record marginal growth each year until 2020 (the end of the forecast period), primarily stemming from the less mature markets of the region where PC penetration stands at some of the lowest levels – specifically Nigeria, Pakistan, and Egypt. These growth forecasts also depend on these countries gradually and partially recovering from the present economic challenges they face.

After posting annual declines for six quarters in succession, the Middle East and Africa (MEA) PC market finally exited the third quarter of 2016 close to flat, with year-on-year growth of 0.4% based on shipments of 3 million units, according to global technology research and consulting firm International Data Corporation (IDC).

Desktop shipments suffered a significant decline of 16.9% to total 1.1 million units, while notebooks shipments grew 14.5% to reach 1.9 million units.

“The recovery witnessed in Turkey, the largest single market in the MEA region, was the biggest contributor towards this growth, due to unusually low shipments in Q3 2015 and a faster-than-expected recovery from the failed military coup,” says Fouad Charakla, senior research manager for client devices at IDC MEA.

“At the same time, some recovery from instability in the North African markets, when compared to last year, also contributed towards PC shipment growth, while deliveries as part of large education deals in the UAE and Kenya were other notable market drivers.”

In addition, Microsoft no longer groups the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries with its emerging markets when it comes to setting prices for its operating systems.

As such, these countries are now charged slightly more for Windows OS on PCs than was previously the case, which resulted in a few vendors pushing their sell-in orders prior to the change coming into effect. This was one of the factors driving notebook shipments across the six Gulf countries.

The regional PC space continued to consolidate further in terms of market players, with the top five vendors accounting for around 77% of PC shipments during Q3 2016, compared to around 67.5% for the same quarter last year.

Market share rankings for the top five vendors in the region also remained unchanged compared to the previous quarter, with all five maintaining their respective positions.

Meanwhile, local assemblers continue to lose market share due to stiff competition from refurbished PCs and aggressively priced notebooks from multinational brands.

HP recorded significant growth both quarter on quarter and year on year in Q3 2016, accounting for the highest market share ever secured by a single PC vendor over the past decade.

Lenovo maintained its position at number two; a large delivery in the UAE education sector helped the vendor boost its position in the overall commercial segment.

Dell’s shipments declined year on year in each of the vendor’s three biggest country markets – South Africa, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia. Asus was the fastest growing vendor in the region, while Acer also recorded some shipment growth.


Kindly share this post

Nigeria CommunicationsWeek believes that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. So since 2007, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and how they affect lives.

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Comments

E-Business

Kaspersky Warns of a New Phishing Technique Leveraging Bubble, a no-code AI Platform

Published

on

Kindly share this post

Kaspersky has discovered a new phishing tactic used to evade traditional security controls that exploits Bubble, a platform that allows users to build web and mobile applications through a visual interface without writing code.

Attackers are increasingly adopting innovative tools designed for legitimate software development and repurposing them to boost phishing campaigns.

Traditional phishing attacks often rely on malicious links or obvious redirection techniques, which are typically flagged and blocked by modern security systems.

However, attackers are now leveraging Bubble’s no-code environment to generate intermediary web applications which are hosted on Bubble’s legitimate infrastructure and trusted domains such as *.bubble.io, which improves their credibility and helps them bypass security filters.

These applications function as disguised redirectors, silently forwarding victims to malicious credential-harvesting websites.

In the observed campaign, victims were ultimately redirected to a convincing imitation of a Microsoft login page, protected by a Cloudflare verification layer designed to further obscure malicious intent.

This technique is likely being integrated into broader phishing-as-a-service (PhaaS) platforms and phishing kits. These kits enable a wide range of malicious capabilities with ready-made tools, including real-time interception of session cookies, driving phishing campaigns through legitimate services such as Google Tasks and Google Forms, and carry out adversary-in-the-middle (AiTM) attacks that can bypass multi-factor authentication.

They also support the generation of phishing emails using AI, implement geo-filtering and anti-detection mechanisms to evade security crawlers and are often hosted on reputable cloud services like AWS to avoid blacklisting.

“The use of legitimate platforms like Bubble introduces a new level of trust abuse, making it harder for both users and automated systems to distinguish between safe and malicious content. This significantly increases the likelihood of credential theft, unauthorised access and potential data breaches,” comments Roman Dedenok, Anti-Spam Expert at Kaspersky.

 

 


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

E-Business

NITDA Takes Over National Digital Architecture System

Published

on

Kindly share this post

Nigeria has taken a major step toward strengthening its digital governance framework as the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) officially assumes control of the Nigeria Government Enterprise Architecture (NGEA) infrastructure.

NITDA Takes Over National Digital Architecture System

The handover ceremony held in Abuja, marks the culmination of a high-level partnership with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).

This transition signals a shift from fragmented IT projects to a unified, disciplined approach to national digital investment.

The NGEA initiative forms a core part of the e-Government Masterplan 2.0 (Ne-GMP 2.0), aimed at establishing a unified and structured approach to managing government IT investments and digital resources.

The framework is designed to ensure that technology deployment across public institutions aligns with national priorities while improving efficiency and accountability.

With the system now operational, government agencies are expected to adopt more integrated digital processes, allowing seamless data sharing and interoperability.

This is anticipated to reduce duplication, strengthen risk management, and translate policy objectives into measurable digital outcomes.

Over the past two and a half years, Nigerian technical experts worked closely with their Korean counterparts to develop the architecture framework, create reference models, and execute pilot programmes in key institutions.

These include the National Identity Management Commission, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service, and NITDA.

Officials say the NGEA represents a shift from fragmented digital efforts to a more coordinated, citizen-focused system.

The infrastructure is hosted by Galaxy Backbone Limited, providing a secure and reliable platform for nationwide deployment.

Looking ahead, NITDA is expected to work with government stakeholders to expand and sustain the system, while the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy will provide policy guidance to ensure its adoption across the country.

 

 


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

E-Business

FG Shifting Focus to “Meaningful Connectivity” to Drive Inclusion  – Minister

Published

on

Kindly share this post

Bosun Tijani, minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, has said the government is shifting focus from expanding access to ensuring “meaningful connectivity” that drives economic growth and inclusion.

FG Shifting Focus to “Meaningful Connectivity” to Drive Inclusion  - Minister

Bosun Tijani, minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy

The minister made the statement on Friday while addressing stakeholders at the inauguration of board members of the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) in Abuja.

He said that although Nigeria had made significant progress since the introduction of GSM services, millions of people, particularly in rural and underserved communities, remain either unconnected or unable to fully benefit from digital services.

Dr Tijani highlighted ongoing investments in digital infrastructure, including plans to deploy 90,000 kilometres of fibre optic network and nearly 4,000 telecom towers nationwide.

He said initiatives under the USPF had improved access through projects such as rural connectivity and digital facilities in schools but stressed that the next phase must prioritise effective usage.

“It is not enough to connect a community. We must ensure that schools can teach with digital tools and that small businesses can access market opportunities,” he said, citing a pilot project in the Kura community where connectivity has enhanced access to communication, education and healthcare.

Aminu Maida, executive vice chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) also called for a shift towards meaningful connectivity, noting that while data usage had grown significantly, it remained concentrated in urban areas.

According to him, recent data shows that telecom usage has increased by about 160% over the past two years, largely driven by urban demand.

“When we drill down, we see that a lot of that growth is actually in urban centres. So, the gap between those who are not connected or not meaningfully connected is growing,” he said.

Dr Maida added that the trend underscored the need for the USPF board to intensify efforts to bridge both access and usage gaps across the country.

Both officials emphasised the importance of collaboration, sustainable investment models and improved digital literacy to ensure that connectivity translates into real economic benefits for Nigerians.

 

 


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

Trending