Magic Quadrant for Global Enterprise Notebook PCs, 2H06
Gartner RAS Core Research Note G00142670, Mikako Kitagawa, Brian Gammage, 17 October 2006 R2124 06302007
Unlike the general notebook market, in which price is often the main purchase criterion, the
global enterprise market also requires consistent hardware configurations, appropriate life cycle services, global support and fast turnaround on warranty repairs.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
This Magic Quadrant is designed to assist global enterprise customers with users spread across multiple regions in selecting notebook suppliers. Our analysis combines evaluations of the notebook vendor attributes that matter most to
Each vendor's position in the Magic Quadrant accurately reflects our analysis of the factors considered. However, we encourage notebook buyers not to use these results as the sole criteria for selecting a vendor. Instead, customers should assess their own organization's priorities and consider these when performing due diligence as part of their vendor evaluation process. It is not uncommon for customers with unique requirements to find that a
The Magic Quadrant for global enterprise notebook PCs is updated each year to reflect changes in market dynamics. For the 2006 update, we have added two new evaluation processes to our quantitative assessment of vendors:
•Qualitative analysis of each vendor's capabilities and processes, based on interviews with the vendor and a range of submitted case studies
•Subjective evaluations of vendors against a range of criteria, based on feedback from Gartner clients to each of our
Our quantitative assessments are based on externally available financial and market data as well as information submitted to Gartner by vendors in response to a questionnaire.
MAGIC QUADRANT
Market Overview
Commoditization and saturation are major notebook market trends in most regions. In a commoditized market, price becomes the major purchase criterion, while market saturation increases the pressure for vendors to lower prices. But while these forces apply to the general market for notebooks, they are less visible in the global enterprise segment. For large- enterprise customers, price is not usually the primary purchase criterion. Instead, their purchase decisions consider various criteria, including each vendor's ability to provide appropriate levels of services and support globally. Working with vendors that can meet these requirements helps reduce the total cost of ownership for notebooks.
Gartner regards global presence as a significant criterion for evaluating potential notebook suppliers. The leaders in this Magic Quadrant are all international vendors that can provide consistent products and services across multiple regions. While smaller vendors can also play effectively in this market, a lack of global capabilities for delivery and/or support would put them into a Niche Players or Challengers position. Such smaller vendors are typically specialized in certain vertical markets.
Market Definition/Description
The global enterprise notebook market is defined as follows:
•The products in this market are notebook PCs, in various form factors and configurations. Mobile
•The main customers in this market fall into three