Acer CEO: goal to become the first in the mobile field

Notebook: Randy Schmidt to help the Miami Valley Research in the field of sports medicine for students to use laptop Acer Aspire Ones.

In downtown Dayton, 11 miles northwest of the Ohio Valley Vocational Asus EEE PC battery Technical Center in Miami, notebook computers are ubiquitous. Vocational school sports medicine program is the use of computers to track the recovery of data. In nursing, they use the patient simulator. In the cooking classes, they use the online menu.

A few years ago, Dell (DELL - news - people), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ - news - people), or Apple (AAPL - news - people) is likely to provide the Centre with tens of thousands of computers. The recent, almost the entire school computer hardware equipment from Taiwan's Acer. Technical Director Randy Schmidt school in 2007, this change made the decision. "I have a fixed amount to purchase, but the Acer can give a good discount." He said, "I have never regretted that decision."

Similar to Schmidt this case represents a new development of Acer, the rapid development of major computer brands, through the expansion of commercial sales. Acer aims to become a laptop computer in 2011 and the biggest seller of the Internet. According to U.S. research firm Gartner shows that Acer currently ranks second. "Mobile is the next revolution in treatment," Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci said, "Our goal is to become the first in the mobile area."

Lanci's strategy is to: move quickly, keep costs low, to establish close ties with retailers. This approach with considerable certainty of selling products online in this together, so that from a local vendor Acer into the world's active role and become the focus of choice for the consumer cost savings. Last year the company reported revenues of 18 billion U.S. dollars, in the context of economic crisis, compared with the previous year growth of 5%. Net profit reached 354 million U.S. dollars.

To maintain this growth, Acer is looking for new customers, including schools. In this market, Acer is still long way to go. It's education market share almost tripled in the last year, but only to 4%. Dell, Apple and HP still led the market. Acer held last year, online forums and school library makeover contest, trying to attract the attention of teachers and administrators. "Our retail business has been very mature," Acer's vice president of U.S. commercial sales Gregg Prendergast said, "We believe in vertical markets such as education, the development of promising."

With the successful fight to Randy Schmidts Acer which has arrived. School where he enrolled students in each new laptop. One day he happened to see the Acer promotions, unit price down to 450 U.S. dollars. He found that Acer will choose to save a lot of money, ultimately will reduce costs.

After starting cooperation with Acer, Schmidt no longer inseparable from it. Because he likes the attitude of Acer, education sales impatience of its trouble to answer his phone, the warranty also very flexible. "I've never seen any one at HP, I do not know these companies who should be contacted." Schmidt said.

Prendergast said his company's "orderly" development. "And the school FUJITSU FPCBP80 battery building trust and awareness takes a long time, but once they start to recommend the brand, it will have an enormous multiplier effect", he said. Greatly encouraged by the results of the past, Acer, Acer ready to Canada and Europe, the implementation of school programs, and adopt similar strategies to expand the U.S. health care and government markets.

Acer has been in the small and medium enterprises occupy a certain reputation, in the field of sales accounted for the company with an annual income of 30%, Acer hope that in 2010 this ratio increased to 40%. Ready to upgrade to Microsoft (MSFT - news - people) Windows 7 operating system, companies typically buy new hardware.

"Without a strong sense of professionalism, Acer hard to become the leader in computer suppliers," the United States, Gartner analyst Mikako Kitagawa said.

While Acer hopes to introduce new server series, but also in the United States responsible for the management of its business customers to provide substantial support for its dealers, but Acer did not develop the same rate of large enterprise market. "The larger the user needs to provide services and support to the more complex, so we started from small businesses, and use them as development base," Prendergast said.

Acer not always have such a clear sense of direction. Founded in 1976, its predecessor for the microprocessor consulting firm, until 1990, rapidly grown to become a large and clumsy business groups, including the production of computer components and peripheral devices. Successive losses of hundreds of millions of dollars led to its U.S. subsidiary in 1999 to stop production and sales of computers. In 2001, a downturn in the technology, Acer's operating loss of up to 9 1 000 9 million. "The company's prospects are not clear," said Acer Chairman of North and South American operations center Rudi Schmidleithner recognition. "We know we may fail may succeed."

Result of some bold decisions to create the Acer back to the beginning of the situation. In 2001, the company canceled its production department. Soon after, began to focus on the development of mobile computing products, and in the future with the help of the administrative Lanci expanded the Western European market, Lanci from Texas Instruments (TXN - news - people) joined the Italian company Acer. In 2003, Acer rally, as of 2008, a series of well-known acquisitions (Gateway (GTW - news - people), eMachines, Packard Bell) to Acer and Hewlett-Packard and Dell among the company can scale to compete status.

Acer also develop truly global company with offices in San Jose, California and HP pavilion ze4400 battery Milan (Lanci your area), its R & D team in Taipei, Manufacturing in China. Lanci said the company and market development as competent Gianpiero Morbello such as Acer, executive director of Europe, has brought global perspective, and Asian manufacturers and suppliers to promote close cooperation and produce better products. "There was a time every company using outsourcing business, we are close to the product producer," Schmidleithner said.

Partners also agree with this view. Acer organizations to "In the case of innovation still have the incredible cost optimization and efficiency," Intel (INTC - news - people) sales and marketing director Thomas Kilroy said. "So we know why Acer can achieve today's success."

Stan Shih, founder and CEO JT Wang has always been fully involved in the operation and development of Acer, but Acer's Lanci called the new architect. The engineer was born in Turin in 2008, served as the company top positions.

Earlier this year, Acer asked its partners Nvidia (NVDA - news - people) to accelerate next-generation graphics processor product development work in order to be able to participate in a timely and important trade show. Nvidia completed two weeks ahead of schedule on behalf of the ion-processor, so that Acer can add it to this new Internet technology. "If Acer can be found in a leading position in its ranks in the market the opportunity, will be included as targets," Nvidia consumer computer sales, said Drew Henry, general manager.

Acer is the use of another creed retailers to control costs (see box). Wal-Mart in the United States (WMT - news - people), Best Buy Inc. (BBY - news - people) and Amazon deal with the bulk of Acer consumer sales. Acer Amazon online sales success of this, thin and light notebooks Timeline series Revo computer desktop. "Years ago everyone would like direct sales, as Dell's great success in this way," Schmidleithner said. "But a long time, we know that partners to help us to develop faster."

Although the guidance has been Lanci, but for Acer, the last being the best portable device business is a very difficult task. Acer plans than others, some of its business by extending the field of smart phones. In the past few years, Acer has developed more than ten kinds of touch screen mobile phone, almost all use Microsoft's Windows Mobile software (Windows Mobile software). The phone has been marketed in Europe and Asia, through the Canadian carrier Rogers Wireless (Rogers Wireless) signed orders to enter the North American market in June. Lanci hopes Acer 2014 to become one of the five major smart phone vendors.

"Tweener" device is another major gamble. Apple iPad, sparked an uproar in the Tablet PC. As early as in 2002, Acer has already begun R & D Tablet PC test tools for the development of IBM ThinkPad X40 battery network components, according to Lanci's request, specifications control between smart phones and the Internet this. New products into the market later this year, competes with Amazon's eBook reader (Kindle).

Acer challenge is how to balance product and budget. "The new ultra-thin device is very good," said American head Schmidleithner. "But the products reach the public can buy at any time ---- to carry people, working ten hours of battery with a laptop or access this ---- it will be more exciting."

Redouble our efforts

In the global PC vendors, the number of units, Acer has jumped to second place.