Acer spouts the biggest load of management guff

Mega and Micro bull

Today, New Acer revealed its 'MegaMicro e-Business'. The name, and the move, is a confusing one.

Chairman and CEO Stan Shih first outlined the 'New Acer' in a keynote at Taiwan's e-business expo on Tuesday. (Obviously lusting after yet more titles for his business card, Shih has also added Chief Business Architect (CBA) to the list.)

In the speech, he talked about moving from 'technologies to services' and from 'box movers to service providers' (i.e. from selling physical stuff to selling not-so-physical stuff). He then waxed lyrical about how brands, a customer-centric culture and higher customer loyalty are important things for an e-business.

It gets more exciting. From today's release, Shih now has a reason why New Acer MegaMicro e-Business (NAMMEB) is different to "general e-business models". In his opinion, it will offer "affordable and scalable products, services and solutions to both individuals and SMEs".

This is compared to others that "typically only provide expensive tailor made solutions to larger corporations".

Wait, there's more. If you're wondering, as we are, about this mega and micro business, there is an explanation: "NAMMEB provides a "real" total solution to companies of all sizes, as well as to individual users. New-generation MegaMicro e-Business powered by the New Acer will be fit to handle all the end-to-end "Micro" needs of clients through the most advanced "Mega" e-infrastructure."

Further on, the company boldly claims that, "with its unique MegaMicro e-Business technologies, know-how and business strategies in place, the New Acer foresees that its PC, notebook, server, and PDA lines will be positively differentiated from those of its competitors."

Accordingly, New Acer and its chairman, CEO and CBA will invest in building an "e-infrastructure", which will offer things (it likes to call them 'e-services') like mobile data services, remote server management and certificate authentication.

Investment comes in the form of about a billion dollars over the next three years, as well as many strategic partnerships with telcos and software companies. NAMMEB will focus its attention on Asian markets, especially Greater China, where it hopes to derive about 40 percent of its revenue by 2004.

Acer cashes in on Middle East

In a turnaround from the usual line, New Acer is blaming September 11 for increasing its sales. It says negative American sentiment in the Middle East has boosted the company's sales in that region. Shih says sales in the quarter leading up to December will rise 25 percent from the previous quarter.

However, the company did lower its Q4 forecast to around £422 million from £542 million due to shipment disruptions following the attacks. The Middle East boost will aid it in breaking even, although profits probably won't be forthcoming, says Shih. In the first half of the year, the company posted losses on its PC sales. Its Q3 results are expected soon.

As part of its assault on the Chinese market, the company also showed off its new handheld organiser, based on a new Chinese version of the Palm OS. ®

Related Links

Stan Shih Reveals 'The New Generation e-Business'
A New Generation of e-Business: Acer's MegaMicro e-Business