www.managedITmag.co.uk 21 good partner and we do what we say we’re going to do.” Core strengths Booth points out that as a brand Acer has some core strengths that serve it well in addressing these markets. “We have a competitive product, first of all, and I think that’s really important. Our challenge is not do we have a good product that could compete with the other enterprise and mid-market players. Our challenge is persuading people that we have a great product and a product that competes, both from a technological point of view and from a price point of view. “Our product is very reliable. And we own our own service, which is really important in the commercial sphere. We have an organisation that was spun out of Acer’s services infrastructure called Enfinitec, which fundamentally is still an Acer company. We own the service infrastructure across Europe to be able to support all our partners. When you sell to a consumer, 90% of the decision, maybe more, is predicated on what the device is they’re buying and how much it is costing them. Larger scale organisations have to think about in-life management of that device and that is a much bigger percentage of the decisionmaking process. “And we are channel-only. There’s a virtue in that. We must respect the role that Acer or any computing manufacturer plays in the entire ecosystem of running IT infrastructure in an organisation. Working closely with the channel means we’re very realistic about where we sit in the ecosystem. Of course, compute devices are incredibly important and endpoint devices are incredibly important – nothing gets done without them – but equally we know they’re not the only consideration when people are managing their IT infrastructure.” Customer engagement In order to reach small and medium-sized businesses, Acer relies on a network of technology resellers (VARs) and managed PCs service providers (MSPs) that can provide a level of service and customer engagement that commercial businesses require. “VARs and MSPs are important to Acer primarily for relationship management. The end user organisations that buy our products aren’t just buying our products, they’re buying a plethora of different technologies and want a service provider that they value and respect and trust and that can be there if they have a problem or need help with something, whether that’s networking today, servers tomorrow or computers the day after. A lot of our partners do all those things,” he said. “Compute devices and displays may account for 15-20% of a company’s overall capex, with 80% going on other things. Our reseller partners and the distributors that serve all those needs play a key role in giving Acer an audience and the right amount of airtime alongside the other things end users need to buy.” On this basis, Acer is likely to do much more to promote its broader ecosystem to VARs, MSPs and SIs that are well placed to make use of the company’s diversified offering to meet SMB customers’ unique needs and, in the process, capture more of that 80% of spend. “A lot of our growth will be underpinned by being able to say to our distribution and reseller partners that, whilst compute and display and Chromebooks are core to our business and will always be core to our business, we have a lot more we can talk about. The overriding feedback from the partners we had in Milan was that they want to do more with Acer.” AI-enabled notebooks Acer is supporting its B2B push with a strong focus on AI integration, security and smart features designed to enhance the user experience. In June, it is launching the first Copilot+ PCs in its TravelMate P4 and P2 series, giving corporate and public sector workers on-device AI capabilities, AI-enhanced tools like Acer PurifiedVoice with AI Noise Reduction and Acer PurifiedView for enhanced audio and video, as well as Intel vPro options for enterprise-grade security and simplified fleet management. Featuring Intel Core Ultra series 3 processors, the new Copilot+ models include three clamshell designs – the TravelMate P4 14 AI (14-inch), the TravelMate P2 14 AI (14‑inch) and the TravelMate P2 16 AI (16-inch) – and one 360-degree convertible model, the TravelMate P4 Spin 14 AI (14-inch). As Copilot+ Secured core PCs, the new laptops offer the highest level of Windows protection across hardware, firmware and the OS, enhanced with additional security features like a fingerprint sensor, built in camera shutter, Kensington Nano lock and Acer’s optional Chassis Intrusion Alarm, a new feature that notifies the user if their notebook casing is opened without authorisation. Other features include a commercial BIOS and complementary Acer Office Manager (AOM) for efficient fleet management; fast charging via Thunderbolt 4 (50% in 30 minutes); optimised battery usage with TravelMateSense; and faster connectivity with Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4.
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