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Top 10 end-user computing stories of 2022

We look at the main trends driving desktop computing and end-user computing this year

Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Published: 19 Dec 2022 9:00

During 2022, the PC industry experienced a big decline in sales of new PCs. Businesses had already refreshed and modernised their PCs during the pandemic to support remote workers. As the year progressed, the effects of economic slowdown, inflation and rising fuel charges, resulted in big tech posting weak financial results, due to buyers’ reduced IT spending. The industry, as a whole, also continued to experience chip supply issues and the US-China semiconductor war demonstrated the grip global politics now has on the future direction the tech sector takes. These factors have resulted in less availability of cheaper products, with manufacturers favouring higher specified hardware over their “value” ranges.

Some end user organisations have decided to extend the life of PC equipment in a bid to delay the capital costs of new equipment. Others are also considering the role of recycling such equipment and assessing the viability of buying refurbished hardware. There are also opportunities to reconfigure older devices as thin clients, which, in theory, should be able to access modern browser-based SaaS business applications. Here are the top 10 end-user computing stories of 2022:

1. Green desktop IT: Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast

In this special edition of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, Gartner’s Annette Zimmerman discusses desktop IT’s circular economy.

2. Macs in the enterprise – what you need to know

A guide to managing Apple Mac hardware and operating systems in the enterprise.

3. Royal Mint turns to Circular Computing for remanufactured Lenovo laptops

BSI Kitemark for laptops supplied by Circular Computing intended to certify remanufactured products that are ‘as good as’ brand new devices.

4. Sustainability challenge sees commercial and charitable hardware reuse on the rise

Support for the circular economy is growing, with The Royal Mint buying remanufactured Lenovo laptops certified under a BSI Kitemark scheme and Govia Thameslink Railway donating used computers to charity.

5. Major PC providers experience a massive fall in PC shipments

Gartner’s preliminary market data for the PC industry show the boom experienced during the pandemic is over.

6. Alibaba Cloud debuts cloud-powered laptop

Alibaba Cloud launches a cloud-powered laptop that will enable mobile workers to crunch compute-intensive workloads without the need for more powerful machines.

7. Why is it so hard to fix the chip crisis?

Through subsidies and grants, the EU and the UK are focused on building out local chip manufacturing to alleviate semiconductor shortages.

8. How worsening economic climate impacts IT spending

As inflation rises, purse strings are tightening at the tech giants, which will have a material impact on chipmakers and providers of IT equipment.

9. ‘We must do better’, says Gelsinger on Intel’s latest results

Chipmaker has reported a massive decline across its major business divisions.

10. Tech in bubble wrap

The recent Samsung Unpacked event is indicative of an industry that believes the only way to add value is to launch new things.