PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 3, 2003--HP (NYSE:
HPQ)
continued its position as the world's leading supplier of PCs to the
small- and medium-sized business (SMB) industry in the fourth quarter
of calendar year 2002 with 17 percent unit market share worldwide
based on 12 percent sequential growth, according to results released
Monday by market research firm IDC.(1)
In North America, HP outgrew the overall PC market with 12.5
percent sequential growth compared to a 0.1 percent increase for the
total market and gained 1.9 points of share sequentially from the
third quarter to the fourth quarter in 2002. Year-over-year, HP grew
9.1 percent and gained 1.4 points of share in North America. In
Europe, Middle East and Africa, HP is the clear market leader with
more than 10 points of share above its closest competitor. And, in
Asia Pacific plus Japan, HP overtook IBM as the No. 1 provider of
desktop and notebook PCs to SMB in the fourth quarter.
"In today's challenging economic environment, we are driving our
teams and resources to deliver high-impact solutions -- including our
industry-standard servers, storage, imaging and printing, services and
financial services -- that benefit customers in their current business
cycles," said James P. McDonnell, senior vice president of marketing,
HP Personal Systems Group. "We are also broadly and aggressively
promoting our wins and successes in the SMB market so companies
understand the scope of our capabilities and how we and our partners
are helping customers achieve their business objectives."
"HP is building relationships with key organizations that serve
the SMB segment, as well as using third-party affirmation through its
customers and partners, to drive awareness of its capabilities," said
Andrew Levi, president and chief executive officer of Aztec Systems,
one of HP's largest authorized solution providers. "By mobilizing
resources and building alliances in the SMB market, HP is credibly
demonstrating how its products are helping businesses enhance
productivity to compete successfully in today's environment."
Since the company's merger, HP has successfully broadened
relationships with prominent organizations that serve small business.
In January, HP announced a partnership with the Small Business
Administration and U.S. Chamber of Commerce to promote the SBA
Matchmaker Program, a nationwide economic stimulus program designed to
match small business with government and private-industry contracts.
HP also is enhancing its reach to SMBs with an existing agreement to
demonstrate small business productivity solutions in various markets
across the United States with partners such as Microsoft.
Overcoming flat IT spending among enterprise companies, HP's SMB
and enterprise sales teams are working together to offer existing
enterprise customers such as Nike and UPS customized supply chain
solutions that enhance their ability to work more productively with
their retailers and end-users. Additionally, HP has leveraged its
powerful imaging and printing franchise to introduce its full product
portfolio to real estate, legal and accounting organizations.
In many cases, these customer success stories are the result of
HP's commitment to a set of value-added reseller partners who are
themselves SMBs. "HP goes to market through several thousand solution
providers, many of which are small and medium size businesses, to
deliver customized IT support in communities worldwide," said
McDonnell. "We know that SMBs are the engine of growth in the U.S.
economy and in many other countries, and we are determined to continue
fueling this engine through SMB channel partners."
About HP
HP is a leading global provider of products, technologies,
solutions and services to consumers and businesses. The company's
offerings span IT infrastructure, personal computing and access
devices, global services and imaging and printing. HP completed its
acquisition of Compaq Computer Corporation on May 3, 2002. More
information about HP is available at
http://www.hp.com.
(1) IDC Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker, March 3, 2003. For yearly
comparisons, HP and Compaq data is combined.
CONTACT: HP James Barnes, 281/514-6990 Email Contact or Roger Frizzell, 281/514-2352 Email Contact