Indirect B2B Technology Market Posts 6% Dollar Growth In First Quarter

The NPD Group’s B2B Distributor and Reseller Tracking Service reported that the indirect B2B technology market in the United States saw a 6% dollar growth in Q1 2019 compared to Q1 2018, and continued to exceed the U.S. GDP growth of 3 percent. During the quarter, software sales experienced 12% growth, while hardware dollar sales saw a 5% increase.

As companies look to protect their digital infrastructure and advance their capabilities, sales in security software saw the most notable gains, up 13% year over year in Q1 with a 12% compound annual growth rate from 2016 through 2018, according to NPD’s B2B Software and Cloud Tracking Service.

Two key growth areas in security software include identity and access management – up 42% — and security information and event management, which climbed 26 percent. These two categories are being driven by companies looking for solutions to centralize and enforce access policies to multi-cloud environments, as well as solutions to comply with regulatory requirements, respectively.

In hardware, the PC market (+13%) and enterprise storage market, including hyperconverged systems (+8%) and all-flash arrays (+11%), are also seeing gains. While growth in the PC market is currently a result of increasing workstation sales, notebook sales are expected to generate growth in Q2 as the education buying season often propels Chromebook shipments.

“As we head into peak education buying season we expect hardware sales will see a boost related to PCs and Pro A/V equipment, which are being leveraged to evolve the classroom to meet today’s demands,” said Michael Diamond, director, industry analysis, B2B Technology for The NPD Group. “In software, business applications, such as endpoint management for mobile device protection, and licensing for office productivity should see some of the strongest education buying season gains.”