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By Graham Hayday, 21 October 2002 16:55

NEWS The 'new HP' continues to dominate the PC market in Europe, Middle East and Africa, according to figures released today by IDC. The company displayed a healthy performance considering the difficulties caused by the Compaq merger, weak economic conditions, and intense vendor competition in both the business and consumer markets. A well-executed product transition also helped the vendor to remain strongly positioned in the region, IDC said. Dell continued to outperform the market and consolidated its number two position in EMEA. The direct vendor maintained pressure on the corporate market and expanded into the SME (small and medium sized enterprise) and consumer markets, recording strong performance in and outside the UK, including France and all German-speaking markets. Fujitsu Siemens had a healthy quarter, returning to positive growth across all form factors, with especially strong performance seen in the notebook and Intel server markets. Good product positioning, strong back-to-school sales, improved distribution channel strategy in the SME market and continued focus in the mobile computing space contributed to the vendor's performance in the region. IBM recorded reasonable, if unspectacular, results during the third quarter, and was hit by weak corporate demand. IBM however continued to address the SME market very successfully, according to IDC's research. Strong performance in the commercial notebook market, with over 15 per cent growth, was driven by strong product and price positioning, as well as an effective strategy in both the corporate and SME markets. Acer had another strong quarter in EMEA, consolidating its position in the market. Continued and successful focus on the SME and notebook markets, as well as a close relationship with its channel partners are among the major contributing factors for Acer's success, IDC said.