The Computer And Peripherals Industry is composed of a diverse group of companies. It produces a wide range of products for sale to just about all businesses and consumers. The industry tends to lead the economic cycle, and is very competitive.
This industry markets a wide range of products and services, many of which are tied to mainframe and server computers, personal computers, and storage devices. A number of offerings include gear to connect this hardware, both within a company and between businesses, suppliers, customers, and consumers. Keyboards and trackballs are other products, for example. In addition, some of the hardware providers offer services, such as installing and managing a business’ information technology operations, or hosting applications on an enterprise’s own computers that can be accessed by its customers. Others in the industry are wholesale distributors of computer products and services.
This is a growth industry. Businesses and governments have long been computerizing more and more of their work to increase competitiveness and efficiency. And, with the rise of the Internet, home computers, used to stay connected with friends and business, have become a necessity. The market should continue to grow. Businesses have to store and manage an increasing amount of data because of competitive needs. Too, whereas in the past, the data stored was primarily words and numbers, which take up relatively little storage space, now more capacity-hungry audio and video material is being computerized and stored.
It should be noted that this industry is somewhat recession-resistant, since many of its products and services can save money. Still, these companies certainly are not immune to economic downturns, since users can postpone buying a new computer and, as employees are laid off, fewer new machines are needed.
Main activities in the industry’s value chain:
The market for personal computers is highly