28 January 2019

Desktop PCs no longer en vogue

The desktop PC has been relegated to the dusty workplace store room, joining relics such as the fax machine and landline phone. That’s the view of technology e-tailer Laptops Direct after it polled 1,013 adults from a variety of business sectors across the UK.

The survey revealed that 42 per cent of UK workers now use a desktop computer in the office. In fact, Laptops Direct says 26 per cent of employees expected to have a laptop upgrade before the end of last year, with a fifth of workers believing desktop PCs make today’s offices look dated and out of touch. Furthermore, 77 per cent of those surveyed believe desktop PCs could ‘turn off’ potential new business clients.

The study found that 38 per cent of workers currently use laptops with 22 per cent even favouring tablets. Laptops Direct reckons the retail sector adopts tablets and smart devices at “breakneck speed” and ahead of other business sectors. It says the industries where the desktop has died the biggest death are retail (20 per cent), hospitality and leisure (16 per cent), marketing and creative (12 per cent), construction (nine per cent) and professional services (five per cent).

Furthermore, 84 per cent of employees who use a laptop report an increase in workplace productivity, saying they get more done as a result of having a device that offers greater flexibility.

Laptops Direct marketing manager Mark Kelly says: “It feels like the desktop PCs has had its day. They don’t lend well to the open-plan, flexible working offices of today, or the need for businesses to respond to today’s fast pace of working