How Lenovo Can Become the World’s Top Hardware Provider
The goal is to become the number one technology provider for both businesses and consumers. Lenovo, currently the world’s largest PC company, is now aspiring to take the number one spot in every category it serves, particularly PC business, mobile, tablets and servers. The company has set its sights on all verticals from the public sector as well as individuals and small to medium-sized businesses. A big part of the focus is to offer genuine value to consumers in all markets
In a recent interview with ComputerWeekly.com, David McQuarrie, general manager of Lenovo northern Europe, addressed the theme of becoming the world’s top hardware provider head-on. McQuarrie discussed numerous goals and plans to create synergies across Lenovo’s diverse business channels.
A Consolidated Technology Provider
Lenovo has uniquely positioned itself as a one-stop shop for consumer and corporate technology products. From mobile devices and tablets to computers, servers, and beyond, the big brand is ready to take the technology world by storm. Considering volume alone, the phone share of the business is expected to boom the most in growth. Other arms of the business–tablets, computers, and the server end–are expected to fit nicely together as strong choices in IT hardware for customers across the globe.
One of McQuarrie’s visions is to have these branches of the business work together with great synergy across departments, delivering great value and allowing for true scalability. Success in these areas would help Lenovo to reach one goal–becoming a truly consolidated technology provider.
Joining Forces and Gaining Ground
Lenovo continues to focus on growth in different ways. Besides cultivating synergies between different sectors of the business, the company and its parent company have been busy gaining new territory with acquisitions. The acquisition of IBM’s System x server business allows Lenovo to move into a different spectrum of technology offerings.
The 2004 acquisition of IBM’s PC business by Lenovo’s parent company Legend has brought on talented, versatile employees as well as a host of lessons learned that now prove invaluable to development of the server end of the business. Former IBM employees fit seamlessly into the Lenovo culture, adopting their new roles wholeheartedly.
Following a $2.1 billion sale, Lenovo predicts it will convert IBM’s x86 server business into a $5 billion profitable business within the year. The key focus points for the server business in coming quarters will target the IT and supply chain aspects of the acquisition. McQuarrie plans to bolster support of the storage and server offerings in much the same way as the PC business has grown. If McQuarrie’s vision comes to fruition, the company may be offering bundled solutions of computers, storage and servers through its PC end of the business.
Just last year, Lenovo acquired Google’s hold on the Motorola mobile division. The mobility market is a big focus for Lenovo’s growth plan. The brand holds a tiny market share but offers solid equipment with a well-known name and reputation.
Strengths – Innovation, Efficiency, and Scale
Lenovo expects to build great success by weaving together all ends of its business, creating a suite of valuable IT hardware offerings for its customers. The company now has a great lead in the PC market due to its aggressive pricing and quality builds. Even though the PC market is shrinking a bit due to the popularity of other technology offerings, McQuarrie hopes the growth will continue to gather speed.
Innovation is expected to help pave the way toward successfully becoming the top IT hardware provider. The company looks to utilize the former IBM employees and their expertise in supporting areas like HPC and SAP Hana. This approach allows Lenovo to take on the role of consultant through a series of solution sales. In some cases, the steps paving the way to this goal may be lined with partnerships between Lenovo and exceptional solution providers. This helps to form stronger relationship and offerings, particularly for software, without competing inside the same channel. You can expect to see the introduction of some new system management tools, like Lenovo’s recent release of the XClarity tool for System x Servers and Flex System converged infrastructure platforms.
These key visions by Lenovo’s corporate leadership paired with the extensive tools and resources the company holds give good insight into the possibilities for success in the next five years or so. Lenovo has positioned itself as a proven brand for quality and value and now looks to expand on its perception by consumers and corporations. One thing is for sure–it will be exciting to watch the progression of Lenovo’s growth and achievements in the wide-ranging IT hardware space in the coming quarters.
