Economic recovery and a slow shift from a cost-cutting mentality to a more business-friendly environment will result in market volume growth of 2.3% in 2014, according to global IT market research agency IDC.

However, inflation, high unemployment and tight credit constraints still present obstacles to growth. The international debt crisis in the EU, which is the biggest and most mature market for workstations in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), is exerting negative pressure on many economies and limiting large public projects.

"Large and medium-sized businesses are expected to remain cautious regarding infrastructure purchases, especially when it comes to mobile workstations," says Mohamed Hefny, senior analyst with IDC's systems and infrastructure department. "Enterprises are also giving priority to cloud, virtual desktop infrastructure, and mobile apps, as the boom in smartphones and tablets make it imperative to provide services such as online banking on these platforms."