Talking Point: PCs will make India a knowledge powerhouse

“The penetration of PCs is just eight per cent in India. Other countries are well ahead and are becoming ‘knowledge capitals’ by taking PCs and laptops to the last man in the queue. If we want India to become a knowledge powerhouse, we have to migrate towards larger devices and they are PCs and laptops,” says Rajiv Srivastava, MD, HP India.

There is, of course, a sense of awareness about this in government circles. But, much has to be done at a time when global PC shipments have been declining consistently for more than eight quarters, although gaining in India, albeit slowly.

The latest figures from the International Data Corporation (IDC) shows the overall PC shipment for the third quarter of 2016 stood at 2.51 million units in India – a quarter-on-quarter growth of 17.3 per cent over the second quarter of 2016. The overall consumer PC market recorded 1.37 million units, a quarter-on-quarter growth of 31 per cent over the second quarter of 2016. HP Inc has maintained the top spot in the Indian PC market with an overall market share of 28.8 per cent.

“You will not become a knowledge powerhouse wielding a smartphone. You will become a knowledge powerhouse through consumption of far more intelligent data, churning and working on that data and innovating through knowledge devices,” Srivastava emphasised.

The PC industry overall has either been stagnant or moving up and down marginally for quite some time. “We managed to grow because of our strong focus on products which are relevant for India. We launched several devices in tune with the government requirements,” says Srivastava, dwelling on its go-to-market approach. Not just the top 10 cities, the company is equally focussed on gaining a foothold in smaller towns, both through partners and opening more retail stores.

“We have 450 of our own franchise HP World. we plan to reach 1,000 by the year-end. In the multi-brand outlets, we may go from 2,000 to 3,000 by the year-end and then 5,000 outlets within three years,” Srivastava said. HP Inc in India is also betting on its “connect” with the young user base."