HP leads in Africa

By Siyabonga Africa, ITWeb junior journalist

Johannesburg, 03 Apr 2009

Hewlett-Packard has scooped the number one vendor position in Africa, according to the latest IDC market share reports. HP was rated in the top position in sales of its consumer and enterprise products.

"While the deteriorating global economic situation is affecting the broader IT market, our gains in Africa demonstrate that customers are turning to HP to increase efficiencies in their IT environment," says Oliver Fortuin, MD of HP SA.

A statement from the company says it managed to increase its market share in the vendor sector by 5.5%, to 38.2%. The major contributors to its growth in Africa include its Itanium-based Integrity platform, which overtook its mainframe platform to reach 19.5% market share and continuing growth of its blade server in the market.

"Africa is a strategic growth market for HP and it is great to see our strong performances across the businesses," says Fortuin.

Crucial for growth

Earlier this month, HP EMEA MD Francesco Serafini said Africa was a crucial region for the company`s growth strategy. HP`s short-term goals were to grow SA as a point of entry into the rest of the continent, he added.

"There is leverage for the rest of the continent from having a strong SA office, and we are doing that by building up our business and the solutions we can offer to the country first, before moving out," Fortuin adds.

When HP announced its first quarter results, ending February this year, out of its total revenue of $28.8 billion (R273.5 billion), the EMEA region`s contribution grew by 1%, to more than $12 billion (R113.9 billion), compared to Asia, which declined by 9%, to $4.4 billion (R41.8 billion).