Are computer repair franchises going the way of the dinosaur? With the decline in traditional pc sales, what role will there be for fixing computer problems? Before you count them out, the move to tablets and smartphones does not get rid of our computer woes.
First, the traditional computer cannot be counted out yet. While sales are predicted by Gartner to decline 10.6 percent this year, that still represents sales of approximately 305 million. That is down from 341 million computers sold last year, but the numbers still represent significant revenue for manufacturers and the supporting industry.
To put computer sales in perspective, tablets are showing growth at around 68 percent, from 120 million devices to 202 million devices this year. They may surpass traditional pc sales in the next few years, but they still represent the same issues that typical computer repair franchises focus on. As the number of apps grows, we will still see the most common computer problems on the various devices. Viruses, malware and spyware are not limited to your desktop pc.
Business computer repair has to grow and evolve to support the additional devices that employees own and use for business. For example, companies instituting a bring your own device policy mean that their IT department now has to manage security policies and best practices for their typical pc setup and the employee owned iPhone or Android device.
Independent computer repair franchises are seeing this trend too, and responding by training technicians to work on phones, laptops and tablets as well. For technician and computer repair business owner, Matt Schmidt, they recently spent 25,000 dollars to send 2 technicians for further training so that they can diagnose and service the next generation of devices versus historically making home computer repairs of just few years ago.
Regardless of the changes in the industry, you still need a keyboard and monitor for most work situations, even if other devices will step in for quick emails and checking social media. The traditional computer repair franchise is still seeing 60 percent of their repairs coming from desktops versus tablets and smartphones, they are not dead yet.
