Lenovo, one of the world’s leading innovators that purchased IBM’s personal computer business in 2005, registered income and revenue growth amid the pandemic as it focused on enabling other companies and institutions to adopt a hybrid work setup to remain operational despite various forms of quarantine restrictions across the globe.
“So far, we have been doing well because of the demand for our products and services. In 2020, Lenovo led the Asia Pacific overall PC market according to a report by the International Data Corp.,” says Michael Ngan, president and general manager of Lenovo Philippines.
Ngan says that based on IDC data, Lenovo achieved a 19.5-percent year-on-year growth in the consumer market, while small and medium businesses, as well as education sectors, fueled the increase in commercial notebook sales last year.
Lenovo Group’s net income grew 65 percent year-on-year to $512 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2021-2022. “Our solutions and services group’s revenue grew 30 percent year-on-year, with operating margin of almost 21 percent,” says Ngan.
“Going forward, we will continue to focus on high-margin businesses and segments. We aim to double our R&D investments over three years and develop more core technology along our new IT structure. We will also further drive our internal digital and intelligent transformation to improve efficiency, and consistently improve our profitability,” he says in an e-mail interview.
Ngan, who has been at the helm of Lenovo Philippines for eight years now, says what makes him excited about the latest innovations in general is how much good Lenovo can do with the right tools at its disposal. “As Lenovo’s mission statement goes, Smart Technology for All, we’re hoping to make the world more inclusive and connected by designing the right devices and solutions to help us get there,” he says.
Since leading Lenovo Philippines in 2013, Ngan and his team were able to spur growth in all segments by increasing the sales of personal computers, laptops/notebooks, tablets, and mobile phones. Armed with strong marketing experience, he also stirred his group into strengthening the company’s retail experience by opening more exclusive stores nationwide, including the Legion, Yoga and ThinkPad brand stores.
In the Philippines, Lenovo provides a number of products, services and solutions for both commercial and consumer clients. It is known for innovative and creative devices like its ThinkPad line such as the X1 Fold, the world’s first foldable laptop, and the X1 Nano, the world’s lightest ThinkPad. Ngan says both these models were created out of users’ changing lifestyle, which is now more flexible than ever.
“To build customer centricity, we design with purpose to meet customers’ needs and solve their challenges,” he says. “Beyond providing our consumers with reliable devices, we also offer support services that ensure users are able maximize the potential of their devices and get the assistance they need.”
Hybrid work
Ngan says as the Philippine economy slowly reopens, “we still see the need for people to have access to devices that will fit with their current hybrid lifestyle and work from anywhere. We have created products and solutions that address the increased demand for portable, secure devices and solutions.”
The company recently launched the ThinkSmart Core kit that streamlines digital collaboration with the help of Microsoft Teams Rooms. For the consumer side, it launched the Legion Phone Duel 2, the second-gen Lenovo 5G gaming smartphone.
Ngan says that amid the pandemic, Lenovo Philippines implemented a remote working set-up to ensure that everyone will be able to continue their work without fear of contracting the virus. “Our employees are our most valuable strategic resource and the safety of our employees remains a top priority for Lenovo,” he says.
“There was an adjustment period, as with all sudden changes, when we shifted to remote working but our culture of collaboration allowed us to keep our operations running with minimal disruption. To better aid our people adjust to the new work setup, we conducted virtual wellness talks and other virtual events that helped keep us connected despite the physical distance,” he says.
In the same way, Lenovo helps clients implement a hybrid work setup. Ngan says workplace transformation is pushing more and more users to mobile and flexible solutions. “As 83 percent of global IT decision-makers and management teams surveyed expect post-pandemic work to be remote at least half the time, Lenovo’s latest mobile workstations, paired with the new modular collaboration solution, offer the ideal setup for meeting the ongoing needs of a hybrid working environment,” he says.
He says the next-generation of ThinkPad P1, ThinkPad P15 and ThinkPad P17 mobile workstations equip companies with a smarter way forward.
Online classes
Ngan says Lenovo, as a leader in educational technology, also offers intelligent hybrid learning solution that makes learning more interactive, effective and enjoyable. Lenovo Smart Classroom was developed with the aim of empowering primary and secondary schools to better organize instructional workflows, he says.
“With a more streamlined workflow in preparing learning materials and classroom management, educators can seamlessly complement their teaching. When traditional classrooms become vibrant hubs for knowledge sharing and collaboration, teachers can focus more on engaging students and equipping them with knowledge and skills for success,” says Ngan.
Connected future
Ngan says with the advancements and integration of technology in the past year, he sees the hybrid work setup to continue. “We believe employers need to equip their full workforce with the right tech tools, deployment and IT support to maximize productivity and collaboration—for both working from home and in the workplace,” he says.