CEO CONVERSATIONS
2014
The Business Times | Wednesday, October 8, 2014
A
SUS, the Taiwanese
multinational computer
hardware and electronics giant, started out as
a humble computer
motherboard maker with just a handful of employees in 1989. Since then,
it has become one of the growth stories of Taiwan’s electronics and computer industry.
It is now a leading global technology company with more than 13,600
employees and 150 branch offices
worldwide. Its revenue for 2013 was
around US$14 billion.
Asus makes products in almost
every area of Information Technology
(IT), including PC components, peripherals, notebooks, tablets, servers and
smartphones.
The company won 4,256 awards
last year and is widely credited with
revolutionising the PC industry with
the Eee PC, the world’s first lightweight netbook. This product, as well
as countless others, have been created by the company’s world-class R&D
(research and development) team
comprising 4,500 engineers.
Alvin Huang, Country Manager
(Systems) of Asus Global, notes that
as a hardware solutions vendor, the
company designs and manufactures
products that meet the needs of today's digital homes and offices.
“We have a broad portfolio that includes desktops, notebooks, motherboards, tablets, smartphones,
all-in-one PCs, displays, optical
drives, netbooks, servers, multimedia devices, wireless solutions, networking devices and graphics cards.”
Asus, he adds, constantly strives
to be an integrated 3C solution provider (computer, communications, consumer electronics) that delivers innovations that simplify customers’ lives
and enables them to realise their full
potential.
“Our products represent the best
that technology has to offer, providing outstanding performance and aesthetics that seamlessly accommodate
all lifestyles, anytime, anywhere.”
Mr Huang feels that the biggest differentiation between Asus and its
competitors is in the fact that the company is a total hardware solutions provider in every area, such as client,
server and even networking.
“Regardless of what the need is,
Asus has a ready-made solution to cater to it. The biggest reason for this
| 3| 13
By focusing on the design thinking philosophy,
Asus is able to constantly work on creating
products that focus on disruptive technology
year after year.
AN ALL-IN-ONE
APPROACH
Users’ needs come first with
Asus’ design thinking focus
strength is our strong R&D team.
Asus is able to constantly come up
with new solutions that answer every
user’s need.”
The company focuses on what it
calls a design thinking philosophy,
says Mr Huang. This means that users’ needs are placed above product
designs. This is one step ahead from
product design thinking, which focuses largely on product design concept
that is based on “hard” facts only, and
gives “softer” features such as user experience lesser emphasis.
By focusing on the design thinking
philosophy, Asus is able to constantly
work on creating products that focus
on disruptive technology year after
year, he adds. A look at the the recent
product history of the company attests to this fact.
Way back in 2008, the company
created the world’s first netbook, the
Eee PC, which revolutionised the concept of a “mobile laptop solution”.
After launching the Eee Pad Transformer, the world’s first 2-in-1 tablet
in 2010, Asus came up with the PadFone, the world's first 2-in-1 smartphone and tablet solution in 2011.
The PadFone was designed to marry
the benefits of both the smartphone
and tablet by creating a smartphone
that would expand to a 10-inch tablet
upon docking.
More recently, last year it came out
with the world’s first dual OS (operating system) all-in-one PC, the Trans-
former AiO. As the name implies,
“all-in-one” means the device has every component inside the PC, including the desktop, optical drive etc.
Also last year, the company introduced the world’s first 2-in-1 phablet,
the Fonepad. The Fonepad allows tablet users to enjoy telephony functions
directly from the tablet. There is no
longer the need to carry both tablet
and smartphone when all the features
a user would like in a tablet or smartphone can all be found in the
Fonepad.
By the end of 2013, the Transformer Book Trio, also the world's first dual OS notebook, was announced. This
notebook leveraged on three different working modes – Windows
8/Android notebook, Android tablet
and Windows 8 desktop, as its distinctive selling point.
This year, Asus made history in
the smartphone market by creating
the ZenFone series, an entry to
mid-range smartphone product.
Since its launch in April, the device
has received many positive reviews
and by June, Asus became the No1
smartphone brand in Taiwan.
Asus has also unveiled the
world's first five-in-one product, the
Transformer Book V, where users
will be able to enjoy multiple usage
modes. The device can be used as an
Android smartphone, Android notebook, Windows notebook, Android
tablet as well as a Windows tablet,
says Mr Huang.
“With all kinds of usage being
addressed in one single product,
users no longer have to worry about
carrying multiple devices in one single setting. In addition to the Transformer Book series, the Transformer
Book T300 Chi is the world's slimmest 13-inch Ultrabook that will feature the latest Intel solution,” Mr
Huang notes.
He adds that the company is at the
moment engaged in developing the
Asus cloud system for the education
and government sectors. Apart from
being a hardware provider, Asus is also working on creating its own cloud
solutions for enterprises.
In Taiwan, says Mr Huang, Asus
has achieved some success with its
cloud storage system for municipal
services, as well as the education sector. The provision of the cloud storage system has also enabled civil servants, educators and students to have
direct access to working materials, as
well as foster better education environment and engagement between
the tutors and students through
e-learning, Mr Huang adds.
In Singapore, Asus aims to be the
No2 commercial brand in the education sector. “Since the launch of the
Asus commercial business in Singa-
pore, we have also seen an increased
number of tenders and interest from
the enterprise sector, government
and SMBs (small and medium-sized
businesses).
“Despite our late entrance in the
commercial business, the overall
awareness of the Asus commercial
business is slowly but surely gaining
In consumer mobile notebooks,
Asus is No 3 globally.
In the same category it is:*
■ No 3 vendor in the US
14% cent market share
■ No 2 in EMEA (Europe, Middle
East and Africa)
14% market share
■ No 1 in Europe
21% market share
■ No 1 in Western Europe
19% market share
■ No 2 in Eastern Europe
23% market share
■ No 2 in China
16% market share
■ No 1 in APEJ (Asia Pacific,
excluding Japan)
18% market share
■ No 1 in Singapore
20% market share
■ No 1 in Taiwan
52.9% market share
(as of August 2014)
■ No 3 in media tablets
worldwide
* As of May 2014
its exposure through multiple channels which we are working on. We will
also be expecting a more complete
and dedicated commercial line up
end of year 2014. Moving forward,
Asus also aspires to collaborate with
more solution partners (food and beverages, health etc) to create a more integrated hardware and software solution for all businesses.”
ASUS recommends Windows.
ASUSPRO BU201 Enhanced Reliability with Free 3 Years Onsite Warranty
TM
Built for mobile business, ASUSPRO Ultrabook Series is engineered to boost greater reliability, mobility and security.
Indestructible Quality with MIL-SPEC
Validates ruggedness, durability and quality against military speciﬁcation tests under extreme
conditions: heat, cold, dust, vibration, thermal shock, mechanical shock, humidity, and altitude.
BU201LA-DT026G
Stunning Display
Full HD anti-glare display for comfortable
viewing over prolonged period.
Toughest ASUSPRO
Sturdy with a full body carbon ﬁbre
chassis and one full hinge to chassis.
Convenience with Full Suite of I/O Ports
With VGA and mini Display port, there is no need to worry
about losing or replacing external dongles anymore.
Precision Keyboard
Spill-resistant, six-row island-style
keyboard with an ergometric
design for accurate and
comfortable typing experience.
Optimised User Experience
(Windows 7 Professional
Downgrade Rights included)
• Intel HD Graphics 5000
• 1TB 2.5” SATA HDD
(Incl. GST)
2,398 (Incl. GST)
$
BU201LA-DT028G
• Intel® CoreTM i5-4210U 1.7GHz Processor (3M Cache, up to 2.7GHz)
• Windows 8.1 Pro (Windows 7 Professional Downgrade Rights included)
• 12.5” LED-backlit Full HD 1920x1080 Anti-Glare
• Intel HD Graphics 4400
ALSO AVAILABLE IN i7
• 4GB + 4GB DDR3 RAM
• 256GB 2.5” SATA SSD
BU201LA-DT030G
• 1.27kg
• Intel® CoreTM i7-4650U vPro
• 3 YEARS INTERNATIONAL WARRANTY
1.7GHz Processor (4M Cache,
up to 2.9GHz)
(Free upgrade to 3 Years Onsite Warranty)
2,298
$
• Windows 8.1 Pro
(Windows 7 Professional
Downgrade Rights included)
• Intel HD Graphics 5000
(Incl. GST)
2,598 (Incl. GST)
$
For more information, please visit http://www.asus.com/sg.
Please contact ASUS for pricing and availability.
Inclusion of hardware buttons on the touchpad and a SensePointTM
pointing stick makes working on-the-go more effortless and user-friendly.
Sales Enquiry
Hotline: +65 6622 8818
Operating Hours: 9am - 6pm (Mon-Fri)
Uncompromised Security
Supreme Performance
Featuring Intel® CoreTM processors with vProTM Technology
designed to strengthen security across the enterprise.
1,798
$
No. 1 Motherboard
Made up of ASUS motherboard, awardwinning motherboard brand in the world.
• Intel® CoreTM i5-4210U 1.7GHz Processor (3M Cache, up to 2.7GHz)
• Windows 8.1 Pro (Windows 7 Professional Downgrade Rights included)
• 12.5” LED-backlit Full HD 1920x1080 Anti-Glare
• Intel HD Graphics 4400
ALSO AVAILABLE IN i7
• 4GB + 4GB DDR3 RAM
• 500GB 2.5” SATA Hybrid HDD + 8GB SSD
BU201LA-DT029G
• Intel® CoreTM i7-4650U vPro
• 1.27kg
1.7GHz Processor (4M Cache,
• 3 YEARS INTERNATIONAL WARRANTY
up to 2.9GHz)
(Free upgrade to 3 Years Onsite Warranty)
• Windows 8.1 Pro
Enhanced protection with biometrics for login. Trusted Platform
Module (TPM) chip further encrypts critical information.
Onsite Service Enquiry
Hotline: +65 6295 3998
Operating Hours: 9am - 6pm (Mon-Fri)
Powered by Intel® CoreTM i7 vProTM Processor.