6 01732 759725 NEWS ...continued SMEs look to digital sourcing platforms for choice and flexibility The UK’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are planning to make major changes to their product sourcing strategies this year, according to new data from Alibaba.com, the Chinese business-tobusiness (B2B) e-commerce platform. More than half (57%) of sourcing decision-makers surveyed plan to change suppliers this year, with a focus on sourcing products at more cost-effective prices (43%), finding trusted suppliers (40%), finding sustainable products (32%) and sourcing new and trendy products to attract new customers (31%). Six out of 10 (59%) say they now attach greater importance to digital sourcing channels, such as online B2B marketplaces, as a way of finding new suppliers, sourcing new products and unlocking growth. Kuo Zhang, President of Alibaba.com, believes these findings are indicative of a growing preference for buying goods directly from suppliers, rather than through intermediaries. He said: “UK SMEs are becoming more strategic in their sourcing, focusing on affordability, trend responsiveness and supplier reliability to stay competitive. Our research shows that SMEs are looking beyond cost savings and actively seeking new suppliers to future-proof their businesses. This shift aligns with a broader trend across Europe, where the number of orders placed by European buyers on our platform in February increased by 75% year-onyear.” Alibaba.com … Pivotal growth forecast for private cellular networks The private cellular network market is set to double in size in the next three years, but 5G uptake continues to disappoint says Juniper Research in its new report, Global Private Cellular Networks Market 2025-2030. It forecasts that growing enterprise demand for private cellular networks will boost revenues by 114%, from $5.7 billion in 2025 to $12.2 billion in 2028, representing a pivotal market shift after years of slow growth. The study predicts that nearly 3,000 new private networks will be deployed over the next two years, compared to just 2,500 in the last four years, driven by the availability of Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) models that enable enterprises to manage operational costs more efficiently through leasing private network elements. Research author Michelle Joynson said: “As the market grows, vendors must provide flexible business models such as NaaS to attract high spending private network users. This will also enable vendors to expand private 5G deployments, as businesses are better able to maintain the capital and operational cost of the network.” As it is, the study predicts 5G will account for $5.6 billion of market value by 2028, despite 5G technology having been commercially available for private networks since 2019. It cites the lower operational cost of 4G technologies and its sufficiency in providing connectivity services to sectors such as manufacturing and logistics as key to the continued of growth of 4G private networks. www.juniperresearch.com PC market off to a strong start in 2025 The European PC market, predicted to bounce back strongly this year as buyers replace notebooks acquired five years ago during the first lockdown and upgrade their devices to accommodate AI and end of support for Windows 10, looks to have started 2025 on the right foot, according to global market intelligence firm Context. Its analysis of sales through European distribution shows a notable boost to PC revenues in January, following the expected seasonal slowdown at the end of 2024. Notebooks, tablets and desktops all outperformed expectations, with year-on-year (YoY) revenue growth of 7% for notebooks, 11% for tablets and 11% for desktops. “Our analysis shows a strong start to the year, with both notebooks and desktops trending above the market index,” said Marie-Christine Pygott, Senior Analyst at CONTEXT. “Consumer sales, particularly in Germany, the UK and Poland, have been a driving force behind this growth.” Notebooks have seen a strong performance across major European markets, with revenues exceeding those of the past two years, driven by 36% YoY growth in consumer channels in Germany, a 15% growth in commercial sales in the UK and 18% YoY growth in retail sales in Poland. These three countries have also seen rising desktop sales, with YoY growth of 26% and 21% in commercial channels in the UK and Germany and a 33% rise in desktop retail sales in Poland. Overall, consumer channels outperformed business channels in January, with investment in businessfocused devices remaining subdued, particularly in the SMB segment, due to ongoing economic uncertainties. However, CONTEXT expects this trend to shift in the coming months as organisations prepare for the end of Windows 10 support, which is expected to drive a new wave of business investment in hardware upgrades. Denmark had the strongest year on year revenue growth for notebooks, desktops and tablets combined of 24.7%, followed by Germany (18.8%), Portugal (17.7%), the Netherlands (12.5%), Poland (11.6%), Spain (10.7%), Belgium (7.7%) and the UK (6%). www.contextworld.com Marie-Christine Pygott Vendors like HP are looking forward to a big boost in PC sales Kuo Zhang
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