Interview with john miedema (director of steel operations europe)

Last week we were in New York witnessing the Acer event and its new products live. We had the opportunity to interview the Director of Operations - Acer Europa): John Miedema. Do not miss it!

John Miedema interview in New York 2017

Professional Review Team: First of all, we thank you for bringing us here. Congratulations on the presentation! The first question is about AMD. What do you think about the firm's AMD Ryzen series of processors and what impact do you think they will have on the market?

John Miedema (Acer): We are very excited about AMD's return to processor manufacturing, we needed to see more competition in that segment. But for now we must see how good this new architecture really is. They have shown strength in the benchmarks –comparatives– of gross performance and we must study what the end user thinks about Ryzen CPUs. Right now, AMD's challenge is to get this message across to the end consumer.

Professional Review Team: At Acer you intend to integrate these new AMD Ryzen processors into your desktops. Are they also going to reach laptops?

John Miedema (Acer): That's right! We are already incorporating them to desktops, with the Aspire GX. laptop integration will take place a little later, we will probably see them in late 2017 and their massive arrival will occur in early 2018 . With the broad portfolio that we have at Acer and all the options that we want to offer, we are very aware of all AMD products.

Professional Team Review: How do you see in Acer today the gaming market, the performance of gaming PCs and the increase in competition teams e-Sports ?

John Miedema (Acer): From Acer we do not see the field of gaming as a conventional market, but as an ecosystem. For this reason, we present the Predator range as teams equipped with very good components, which reinforce the VR experience and augmented reality and support eSports with their devices and sponsorships. From this comprehensive approach we want the Predator series to be part of the gaming universe in all its facets.

First we started with the high-end Predator laptops, to make our way in the market and offer a dominant product in the sector, which was recognized by professional players; We now also offer solutions for casual and aspirational consumers. With this strategy we are expanding our market and I believe that eSports are the key to this success. Without the competitiveness of eSports, the gaming sector would not have the good acceptance it is –and will continue– to have. More and more people enjoy watching the best compete, and many are interested in playing as well as the professionals and being part of the community. In these games it is when they realize and understand what benefits some or other benefits bring, and depending on the type of player they are, they adjust their budgets to some ranges or others. That is why Acer renews its sponsorship in eSports and at the same time offers all players various product ranges with the best in each category.

Professional Team Review: This new gaming line for more casual players, is it having a good response?

John Miedema (Acer): It is being very good, as there are a large number of new players who do not want to buy or spend their budget on high-end equipment. We offer high-performance products that allow them to play as much as the most dedicated players do, as well as giving normal use to their equipment. An example of this is the Nitro line that we have presented at this event. We are being first and second in the ranking of manufacturers in many markets and we estimate to reach 40% of the share of the gaming category, since we have focused a large amount of our efforts on meeting the needs of these users and we believe that it will reflect On sales.

Furthermore, we want to take advantage of our position to enter into sectors related to these products. For example, we've introduced the Predator Triton 700 for those who require a lot of mobility and are looking for very thin laptops but don't want to compromise on performance. With our presence in the gaming sector, we help players to grow in this area and trust our firm for the next team they want to enjoy and win with.

Professional Review Team: We are curious about the laptop that you presented last year, Predator 21 X, with a price of almost 10, 000 euros and that in the presentation you have shown your joy for the reception it has had. What consumer have you found that suits what Acer offers and requests with this laptop?

John Miedema (Acer): The Predator 21 X laptop is a concept product, just like a race car, but available on the market. We wanted to show the world what it is that you can create today in gaming , the most extreme, largest and most expensive product that exists. Obviously, since we have brought it to the market, we seek to sell units and we are doing it, but above all we have achieved a very positive information channel. To carry it out with these features we have learned a lot: for example, new solutions to increase cooling; and now we have included them in products of other ranges. Therefore, we are happy that the most demanding gamers have chosen and embraced the 21 X, since it was a challenge and a capacity for innovation that now benefits other players.

Professional Review Team: Today Acer has introduced an HDR monitor with maximum performance. Does Acer believe that HDR technology will remain long only in the high-end range or will it soon reach the mid-range and low-end and portable ranges?

John Miedema (Acer): Yes, it is a technology that will reach all levels that already greatly improves the image quality for players and any user when viewing multimedia content. Now, however, it is a new technology and whose cost still makes it be only in the high range, but it will definitely come. I could not tell you an exact date when HDR can be incorporated into the other ranges and products, but it will not be this year.

Professional Review Team: Finally, we have seen in the presentation the importance that Acer gives to the virtual reality market and the industry agreements in which it participates. How is Acer entering this ecosystem, not only supplying equipment but also with content creation tools?

John Miedema (Acer): I think virtual reality is not only revolutionizing the video game sector, but also the way in which we interact with our devices. With StarVR we participate in this professional virtual reality glasses solution. We subjected them to professional and military tests and used them in centers such as the IMAX VR. To complete all the possibilities, for the rest of the users we also offer the Augmented Reality glasses in which we are cooperating with Microsoft on the Windows Creator platform. With them we want augmented reality to allow manipulating data in a very different way. For example, you can have ten windows open at once, or instead of seeing an explanation of a natural phenomenon in a photo or video, students can see it in front and interact with the animation. Both technologies offer us many opportunities and from Acer we contribute to adopt them through our hardware; And now we are moving and closing agreements so that these technologies are implanted in the market, that they are accessible and do not remain only in mere demonstrations.

An interview that left us with a very good taste in our mouths, since we had the opportunity to exchange a vision of the future of computing, virtual reality and that, thanks to very high-end products, lower-end products end up benefiting . What do you think of Acer's vision? Do you like its philosophy and its new products?