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. 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