According to many experts in the Polish IT distribution industry, the most important thing this year will be availability. We're talking here primarily about the speed of delivery of components and subassemblies, necessary for the production of not only advanced solutions. The last year has shown that what until recently was the key factor that determined the market position of a given manufacturer - price - is today receding into the background, or perhaps even into the third plan. Nowadays, the key deciding factor for the customer is the availability, ability to purchase and fast delivery of equipment.
"Distributors mostly expect a good year and growing sales across the product range. However, they also point to significant risks, including problems in ensuring product availability."
IT distribution in the past year - summary
The past year was one of the best for the Polish IT distribution market, and most distributors are optimistic about the coming quarters. According to information published by the CRN portal, there was a 35% increase in the revenues of distributors in Poland (during the 12 months counted from June 2020 to June 2021). Most likely, such a good situation will not be repeated, however, the continuation of the upward trend is still noted.
IT distribution in the current year - forecasts
In the current year, Polish distribution expects demand for IT products and solutions to continue. Such forecasts are due to the continued digitization of companies, administrations and households. An additional factor is the need for users to adapt to a hybrid model of work and learning. E-commerce, 5G, smart city or Industry 4.0 are also important driving forces. Unfortunately, according to experts, the entire year of 2022 and part of 2023 will be burdened by the semiconductor crisis, which will translate into further problems with the availability of hardware of advanced solutions.
We encourage you to read the full article "Distributors on 2022: Availability will be the most important" published by CRN.pl. In the publication, the magazine's editors took into account the opinions of the largest leaders in the distribution of IT solutions in Poland, including a comment from our sales director Marcin Cichecki.
In his opinion:
"We assume that demand for IT solutions will remain high this year, but it may be in areas other than those most popular during the pandemic. We think there will be increased demand in the government and education sectors, as well as from businesses. Conversely, we should expect less interest in the home office and gaming product segments. The most important trend will be edge computing with all the add-ons such as hybrid cloud, hyperconvergence and secure remote access via software and hardware. The second area that is likely to emerge more strongly in 2022 is the rapid development of IT/OT networks for hybrid cloud and the ability to monitor them, security of access and transfer, and certainty of package delivery. We will certainly face price increases, due to the progressive increase in rates for all raw materials, materials and transportation. A major challenge for our industry will be the tax change enacted in the PLA and the proposed introduction of a higher reprographic fee."