Netbook Sales in Singapore to Be Driven Further by Ease of Cloud Computing

Small businesses in Singapore are set to spend US$235 million this year on notebook PCs despite the economic downturn, according to AMI-Partners. The forecast represents a 4 percent growth over last year.

The findings, from a recent survey by AMI-Partners, reveal that Singapore small businesses are positive that business will pick up by 2010 and are expecting a 7 percent growth in portable PC spending by then. Compared to the rest of ASEAN, Singapore small businesses make up 13 percent of the total addressable portable PC market in 2009.

"Employees in Singapore SBs are increasingly mobile and telecommute more,” says Anson Quek, Singapore-based analyst at AMI-Partners. "Businesses also expect employee productivity to increase with notebook PCs.” In fact, 10 percent of SBs migrated from desktop PCs to notebook PCs, with 88% of them citing the need for employees to be mobile or telecommute. With wireless broadband coverage becoming more commonplace, employees in Singapore can stay connected at all times and anywhere, and be truly mobile. Staying connected on notebook PCs and the ultra portable netbooks while away from the office will allow employees to be more efficient and productive.

In a related trend, the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) is expecting its Next Generation Nationwide Infocomm Infrastructure initiative, with major internet service providers such as MobileOne, Starhub, Pacnet and Singtel offering seamless wireless broadband access, to bolster Singapore’s efforts to be a leading nation in cloud computing usage, which can complement the use of netbooks.

A typical netbook has a screen size of 5.6 to 10.1 inches, an Intel Atom processor of 1.66GHz, in-built wireless LAN capability; it weighs about 1kg and has an average battery capacity of about 3 to 4 hours. In short, a netbook is what a mobile worker will want: lightweight, small form factor and convenience. However, a common complaint about the netbook is that its Intel Atom 1.66GHz processor has insufficient processing power to handle the applications and tasks that notebook users are accustomed to on a normal Pentium Core2 Dual notebook.

"With a robust wireless broadband network, actual processing for applications will be transferred to servers or data centers, while the netbook – doing what it does best – displays web pages from a standard web browser.”

Similar efforts are seen in Malaysia, with YTL e-Solutions (YTLE) collaborating with Cisco Services to build a WiMax network throughout the country. Also, major telecom service providers in the ASEAN region are in the process of testing and implementing wireless broadband networks. All these wireless broadband networks can be leveraged by portable PC manufacturers and cloud computing service providers to market products and services that are "tailored for the mobile worker.”

"At the end of the day,” argues Quek, "our analysis shows that SBs in industries such as financial services, retail, manufacturing, healthcare and wholesale will benefit from netbooks coupled with cloud computing.”

www.ami-partners.com