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Appeared on: Thursday, December 19, 2013
Acer To Become A Hardware Plus Software and Services Company

Acer said on Wednesday it is focusing more on software and services to revive its struggling PC business. The company will develop so-called "Build Your Own Cloud" (BYOC) products that will work on its notebooks, tablets and smartphones, and enable users to store and share content between devices.

Acer will also enhance its own designed apps for BYOC.

Acer Chairman and CEO Stan Shih said, "We are embarking on this transformation based on our existing core capabilities. On the one hand, with our PC and mobile devices we have sufficient strength and scale. In addition, more than a decade ago, Acer announced the BC (Basic Computer) and XC (Specific Usage Computing) concepts, as well as the Mega Infrastructure, Micro Services idea to launch e-services; so it can be said we have already sown the seeds for cloud technology long ago. This was further developed two years ago when we acquired iGware (renamed Acer Cloud Technologies Inc., 'ACTI') to focus on developing the cloud business."

Acer will combine its strength and scale in PCs with the foundations and core competence in cloud technology, to become a hardware plus software and services company. In the future all Acer PC and mobile products will be designed in line with this vision, allowing users to build their own cloud on Acer devices.

The cloud concept was in fact raised by Acer more than a decade ago. Through its eData Center (eDC) business, Acer accumulated the technology and experience in information security and established its core cloud competencies. In the last two years Acer developed AcerCloud and apps, while ACTI built up a reliable technology for managing the application platform.

BYOC services are provided through apps; Acer will therefore continue to enhance the content services of existing apps. In the past Acer only sold hardware, which meant that after the sales transaction the service provided by Acer was limited. In the future, the sale of an Acer notebook, tablet or smartphone will be just the start of an experience which offers enhancements and services through BYOC. Thus, BYOC will be the bridge to Acer's transformation into a hardware, plus software and services company.

This means that Acer will in the future provide software and services to consumers and enable them to build their own cloud on their devices, such as music, photos and other types of clouds. These self-built clouds, based on an Acer Open Platform, are reliable, easy to use and can be shared anytime, anywhere.

Shih explained, "BYOC represents Acer's vision to win in the era of cloud services. Built on an open platform, our cloud technology follows the Wangdao mindset to focus on innovative applications for a higher quality of life, and to create value with all stakeholders and share the benefits with them. Acer will strive to strengthen core competencies to create value and to construct a mechanism to balance all interests."

While the growth of the PC market is limited, the annual global market for PCs and other mobile devices still has a significant scale. As PC and mobile devices will fortify the foundations of cloud services, Acer believes it can remain one of the key members of this industry.

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