The Innovative Decade and the Path Forward

May 1, 2015 marks the 10 year anniversary of Lenovo’s acquisition of IBM PCs, and I was asked to write about my reflections on the past decade -- a decade of innovation for Lenovo.

Time flies, and a lot comes to my mind when I try to look back.  For the Think brand specifically, Lenovo has worked hard to not only maintain the Think brand image but also enhance it, and we just sold the 100 millionth ThinkPad (“ThinkEve”) three months ago. 

Aside from the Think brand, there were many memorable moments for me personally especially when Lenovo brought innovative ideas to life.   We launched products such as the Yoga family of laptops and tablets, and super apps such as SHAREit and SECUREit, which have helped solve customers’ pain points.  In the first case, we introduced new form factors so that a tablet can stand, tilt and hang, and we even put a built-in projector inside, making it easier for the entire families to enjoy movies and other entertainment. And in the second case, we made it possible for people to share large files – photos, videos, etc. – from one device to another without a wireless connection. 

Looking ahead, that’s the kind of innovation that Lenovo is committed to. As a team we try to observe how people are living their lives differently, analyze where they tend to encounter a pain point, and come out with a solution that will solve their problems. In other words, I believe a company has to think about its customers first, and treat them as the center of our universe.  In today’s world, technology, internet, and social media have made this possible, so a business can build a relationship with each individual customer, and use its products, services, and applications to have multiple touch points with them. 

In the longer term, I see that as the only way for a business to win in today’s market – using its innovation to help make people’s life easier and fun. It’s really about creating an experience, with all that a company can offer – including hardware, software, services and applications. For example, in mobile payment, it’s about having the right hardware like finger print sensors, software that protects against hostile attacks, and cloud services that help authenticate the accounts – all working together to create a secure and smooth experience for the customers. 

That’s the kind of innovation that I have been thinking about a lot lately – the innovation that makes a real difference in people’s life. And I think that’s the beauty of technology, when we take care of all the complexity while the customers only enjoy a seamless experience. 

And to that end we will keep innovating. Now the last innovative decade is behind us, and we are ready to embark on a new journey. Join us at Lenovo Tech World in Beijing on May 28 to see some of our latest ideas come to life! 

This was first published April 30 at http://blog.lenovo.com/en/blog/yuanqing-yang-decade-of-innovation/

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