'The objective of the company is shifting away from being `technology-centric,' to being `customer-centric','

–Stan Shih,

CEO, Acer.

Why is Taiwan cultivating a

software culture? Is Acer's move in the same direction related to this?



Taiwan's transformation from a hardware powerhouse to an innovative creator of software is
indispensable for the sustained competence and competitiveness of Acer as well as Taiwan.

This new cultural twist posses a major challenge for Taiwan, as the necessary changes

require restructuring on fundamental fronts such as the country's education system and

business management style. And it is a long-term vision.

What is required for Taiwan and

Acer to become world leaders in software?



You can become world-class in just three to five years when it comes to hardware,

but for software, it takes much longer. It is an issue of culture. We need a more

customer-centric culture in Taiwan. Software has to touch the customer, the consumer and

the people. Acer is already world class in many areas, especially in high-tech

manufacturing. From Acer's point of view. We have to begin fostering this kind of culture

now, otherwise it will be too late, as Acer's competitive edge in high-tech can only last

for the next ten years.

How is Acer planning to bring this

change?



We are repositioning the Acer Group for a new phase of development. The objective

of the company is shifting away from being 'technology-centric,' to being

'customer-centric.' The main task now is to address the issue of how to commercialize

Acer's available technology to better meet the IP-intellectual property or 'intangible

products'-and service needs of customers with an eye on helping people to fully enjoy

their lives.

Acer believes that IP is the IT merchandise

wave of the future. IP products are the only way to go: If you don't have IP, you will not

have a business 20 years down the line. Acer's vision is to stay competitive in the

long-run by cultivating a software culture in Taiwan to foster IP creation, Innovation,

reliability and understanding of marketing requirements.

Acer, in order to achieve all these

changes, must first identify the issues and direction and then develop an effective action

plan. The action plan will include not only organizational restructuring but also things

like redesigning and enhancing corporate-wide communications. All of these combined

together is the process of reengineering which is a long-term process that will take a

minimum of two to three years to complete.

But why go in for reengineering,

and not for gradual changes?



Managing a company is a continuous process, but because of the big shifts in the

industry, we have to turn in a new direction, a direction with better returns. The kind of

changes we're talking about covers everything-from product lines to purchasing and from

the technologies we support to the kinds and amount of marketing we pursue. These changes

involve adjusting mindset, the way we communicate, the kind of training we need in the

organization, and follow-up measures we'll use to check on our progress. We've already

done a lot in the last year, but it's not finished.