This IDC study describes Malaysia's hardcopy peripheral (HCP) market and consumables market by using final 2011 tracker data, looking particularly into the overall performance in 2011 and the forecast period of 2012–2016.

"The Malaysia economy has slowed down throughout the course of 2011, which could pose an overall threat to the domestic and international demand, where the overall execution of macroeconomic policies has contracted and overall expenditures are set to increase in the 2012. The overall decline in the government and corporate sector has also led the HCP market to exhibit minute growth in 2011," says Donovan Low, associate market analyst, Peripherals Group, IDC Malaysia. "On top of that, with an overall slowdown on growth, it is worrying for all industry players as much of the focus for printer vendors is on consumables, especially with bigger projects as printer replacements would be secondary amid economic slowdown," adds Donovan.

Looking forward, industry players will be more inclined to maintain their existing clients, especially those within the corporate sector, as overall spending and internal budgets tightened. The Malaysia government is about to hold its next general elections, where uncertainty looms for most industries in the country. The future after the general elections remains uncertain, as the government has ensured further growth within the ICT market, investing in advance infrastructure. Having said that, most industry players are already holding back budgets as several large vendors are already preparing for a sluggish year or two ahead.