Advancements in wireless tech drives computing devices market

Advances in WLAN, external hard disks, and keyboards is driving replacement of existing devices in the global computing devices market, says Technavio. The analysts are forecasting positive growth for many of these segments over the next four years as the computing devices market continues to develop.

Technavio market research analysts predicts the global WLAN market to grow at a significant CAGR of around 14% during the forecast period. The emergence of the 802.11ac Wave 2 wireless specification is the primary growth driver for this market. 802.11ac Wave 2 specification utilises the multi-user, multiple input/multiple output (MU-MIMO) technology and has a theoretical maximum wireless speed of up to 6.9 Gbps, Technavio says.

The higher bandwidth and MIMO technology of 802.11ac Wave 2 specification will compel enterprises to upgrade their Wi-Fi networks with Wave 2, 802.11ac during the forecast period.

A key trend in the market is the increase in popularity of wireless external hard disks. Though an inbuilt battery makes it a bit bulky, elimination of additional wiring makes them more convenient, Technavio says.

The embedded Wi-Fi technology makes it simple to connect to be easily accessible from any smartphone, tablet or personal computer - a feature that is likely to augment the growth of the external hard disk market in the forecast period, the analysts find.

APAC is estimated to dominate the external hard disk market during the forecast period with close to 56% of the overall market share by 2020. Factors such as the presence of a large number of PC manufacturers in the region and the growing demand for a higher storage capacity will greatly aid market growth over the next four years.

Technological advances by keyboard manufacturers is another major trend in the global computing devices market, Technavio says.

In the market study based on the global keyboard market, it is estimated that the Americas region dominated with approximately 41% of the total market share in 2015. Increasing demand for PC gaming devices in the region will also significantly contribute to this market's growth, the analysts find.

Sunil Kumar Singh, one of Technavio's lead analysts for hardware research, says, "To gain maximum market shares, many electronic device vendors from varying industries are anticipated to make significant investments in smart devices to augment integration of advanced electronic components into their electronic devices.

"The vast amount of data collected from connected devices will allow vendors to improve customer and partner assistance and support."

The global demand for connected devices for mobile computing (smartphones, tablets, and PCs), media players (smart set-top boxes, smart TVs, and gaming consoles), wearables (smart watches, smart bands, smart glasses, and smart clothing), and smart home appliances is expected to boost the prospects for many new vendors to penetrate the computing devices market during the forecast period, according to the analysts.

Some of the key vendors for the global computing devices market include Cisco, HP/Aruba, and Ruckus for WLAN; Western Digital,Seagate, and Toshiba for external hard disk drives; and Logitech, Dell, and HP for keyboard.