This new Key Note report aims to provide a clear view of the construction of the SoHo (Small Office/Home Office) market and its components in terms of products and equipment. This, the first of two reports, looks mainly at the equipment required by the SoHo consumer and provides an overview of each of the main market sectors of interest.

The SoHo market is defined as covering both teleworkers working for an employer or on a freelance basis from home, as well as small businesses with a turnover of £1m per annum or less and with fewer than 50 employees or partners involved in the business. This type of business makes up the majority of all businesses in the UK and so is an important sector of the market for suppliers of SoHo equipment and services.

The product sectors covered by this report include personal computer hardware and software; computer peripherals, i.e. scanners and modems; SoHo furniture, i.e. desks/workstations, computer chairs; fixed line telephones and answering machines and mobile phones. While this list is by no means exhaustive, it is intended to provide an overview of developments in the SoHo sector and provide pointers as to future growth.

A key feature of this report is the quantitative research commissioned by Key Note from National Opinion Poll (NOP) Financial. This research, commissioned in July 2000, looks at purchasing intentions for various SoHo equipment sectors, penetration levels, current usage patterns and attitudes towards technologies such as the Internet.

The research data from NOP Financial is analysed by demographic sub-group in this report in order to provide an outline of the typical small business user and their likely future purchasing intentions. Such information is used to help establish which product sectors are likely to experience the strongest rates of growth over the next few years.

The largest product sector within the SoHo equipment market is identified as being that of personal computers (PCs), followed by mobile phones, reflecting the rapid rise in penetration of both products over the last 5 years.

An overview of the issues surrounding small businesses is provided using financial and demographic data to provide a background to the report. Existing household penetration levels for the SoHo equipment sectors under review are also provided in order to establish the potential for further growth in sales in each sector.

The key suppliers in each sector are also identified, with brand shares provided where possible and a general overview of the retail distribution of the different products is also provided.

In conjunction with the information provided on household penetration of SoHo equipment, data on future purchasing intentions is also analysed for each sector. This also provides an indication of levels of consumer and business confidence in the economy in general.

An assessment of the future potential for the SoHo equipment market is provided in the final section of this report, with market forecasts up to 2005 provided for the sectors under review.

In summary, this report aims to provide an overview of the SoHo equipment market in the UK and an insight into purchasing patterns and intentions for the key product sectors over the next 5 years.