Acer founder Stan Shih at a recent event has noted that the Acer Group's current business operation consists of three major segments: core PC business; business derived from PCs such as virtual reality (VR) and gaming devices; and new business operated by subsidiaries, and in order to gain opportunities for development for these subsidiaries, they have to be internationalized.
Shih noted that Acer spun off several business units as subsidiaries such as Wistron and AU Optronics in 1990s but were not able to combine these subsidiaries' business operation. Now, Acer has a mechanism to integrate existing subsidiaries and new ones to be establsihed in the future.
For example, Acer's subsidiaries Weblink International, an IT hardware/software sales agent and system integrator, and Acer Cyber Security, a managed information security service provider, focus on operation in the Taiwan market but have to go international through tapping overseas markets such as in Southeast Asia, Shih noted. In this respect, Weblink can cooperate with local sales agents or Acer's retail networks in overseas markets while Acer Cyber Security has won accreditation from International Information System Security Certification Consortium (ISC)2 for technological capability in the international market, Shih indicated.
Acer's new business should have international market potential and capitalize on Acer's international brand and marketing channels, Shih said. For example, Acer has sold digital signage for 20-30 years, with marketing extending from hardware sale plus after-sale services to providing software and services based on monthly charge, Shih noted.
New business is of a wide range, for example, how to integrate Taiwan's strength in medical technology and expertise with AI (artificial intelligence) and cloud computing to make operation in medical care easy to profit is in Acer's consideration, Shih said. Acer will provide newly developed medical instruments integrated with AI and cloud computing for hospitals based on sharing of operating revenues, Shih indicated. According to Acer chairman Jason Chen, Acer is cooperating with hospitals in Taiwan to use Acer-developed super computers in genetic sequencing to determine whether there is genetic mutation in several hours, much shorter than two weeks originally taken.
Acer founder Stan Shih (right)
Photo: Aaron Lee, Digitimes, July 2018
Article translated by Adam Hwang