ITB: Which trends do you think will shape the IT year 2017 decisively?
Bleicher: In our core business, refurbished hardware, we expect increasing demand in the coming year as well. The trade has recognized the chance of higher yields compared to new goods and the benefits of "processed" have also reached the end customer. After many companies have withheld investments due to the introduction of Windows 10, there are many hardware changes to be made in 2017, which will also boost the used market. In general, I expect the cloud to continue to gain in importance and to replace local data more and more.
ITB: Which trends do you think will fail in the IT year 2017?
Bleicher: From the perspective of the processor, smartphones will remain a difficult topic in the coming year. Due to the narrow margins for mobile phones, the expense of a professional general overhaul hardly makes sense. If you want to offer the devices at an acceptable price compared to new goods, there is usually nothing left for the retailer. Apart from that, I still consider the mobile payment topic to be very critical in 2017. Security concerns and a lack of education among the general public are still too great hurdles for this form of payment to become established.