BANGKOK – Global technology leader HP Inc. has outlined its strategic vision and business direction amidst a rapidly evolving global landscape, highlighting three critical megatrends: Artificial Intelligence (AI) processed directly on devices (On-Device AI), the growing wave of Regionalization, and shifting Customer and Employee Expectations.
These pillars are set to guide HP’s innovation and development of solutions tailored for the future of work. The company is also championing its “One HP” strategy to deliver a unified and seamless experience for customers and partners, while emphatically reaffirming its commitment to sustained investment and growth in the Thai market.
In a recent press briefing, Koh Kong Meng, Managing Director for HP Southeast Asia and Singapore, provided an overview of the current business environment and detailed how HP is adapting to deliver superior solutions to its customers and channel partners globally, with a particular focus on Thailand. He underscored the imperative for businesses to understand and navigate the new dynamics shaping industries and consumer behaviors.
On-Device AI: A Paradigm Shift in Security, Speed, and Privacy
The first megatrend commanding HP’s strategic focus is Artificial Intelligence. Koh Kong Meng illuminated the distinctions and advancements in AI development at HP, emphasizing a move towards AI that operates directly on portable computing devices like notebooks, rather than relying solely on cloud-based processing.
“I’m sure everyone in this room has heard of AI, but how many of you understand that the AI that you are using today, whether it is ChatGPT, Gemini, etcetera, all of that [is] on the cloud?” Mr. Koh began. “It means it sits somewhere else; it may not even be in Thailand. All your data, all the queries that you are entering, the AI is gathering, you’re already sharing on the cloud.
And the security risks or privacy risks that you have are many times more than if you did a normal Google search, for example. We are very concerned about it, and that’s why, initially, we are developing systems or AI which sits on the notebook. And none of the data that you are entering is shared to the cloud, none of it is shared through the Internet.”
This strategic pivot to on-device AI offers significant advantages. “We have many solutions out there that you have seen already which help customers to do that,” he added. “So that’s the first trend: leveraging AI to put it onto a notebook close to you without compromising your data, but giving you more security, giving you faster speed at lower cost. So,we working very hard in that.
” This approach not only mitigates concerns about data security and user privacy but also promises enhanced processing speeds due to reduced latency and can contribute to lower operational costs in the long run by minimizing data transmission and cloud resource dependency. This shift is particularly relevant for enterprises handling sensitive information and individuals seeking greater control over their personal data, representing a significant step in evolving the user’s technology experience while maintaining data security as a core tenet.
The Ascendancy of Regionalization: Navigating a New Global Economic Order
The second megatrend reshaping the global economic fabric is “Regionalization.” Mr. Koh explained that the era of globalization as traditionally understood over the past few decades has undergone a significant transformation. While international connectivity persists, the importance of regional blocs and localized economic ecosystems has surged.
“The age of globalization that we knew in the last few decades has changed,” he stated. “That doesn’t mean everything is going to stop. What we see is regions around the world are becoming even more important. Asia as a trading bloc is one of the largest in the world, and we are seeing this in many of the other regional blocs around the world, whether in Europe, whether it is Latin America, etcetera. We want to be able to leverage that in HP as well.
” This strategic alignment with regionalization allows HP to cater more effectively to the specific needs and nuances of diverse markets, fortifying its regional presence while maintaining its global operational strength. This trend also reflects broader geopolitical and supply chain shifts, encouraging businesses to build resilience and responsiveness within specific economic zones.
Evolving Employee Expectations: The Critical Link Between Wellbeing and Productivity
The third, and perhaps most striking, megatrend for many organizations involves the profound shift in customer, and particularly employee, expectations regarding their relationship with work. HP conducts an annual “Work Relationship Index” survey to gain insights into employee experiences worldwide, and the findings have been revealing.
“One of the most shocking statistics which I will share with you is HP Work Relationship Index. One of the most shocking findings that we had is 72 percent – 72% of all employees report that they have an unhealthy relationship with work,” Mr. Koh revealed. “Unknown to all of us here, 7 out of 10 people do not have a healthy relationship with work. But that means they’re not happy. You are not happy, and both of you are most likely not going to be productive. If you’re not productive, a company is not able to get the best out of what you have to offer.”
This stark reality has propelled HP to concentrate its efforts on significantly improving the employee work experience. “A lot of the work that we do is focused on making the work experience a lot better for employees. What that means is we want to be the leader in the future of work,” he asserted. HP firmly believes that happier employees are more productive, more engaged, and contribute more significantly to their companies.
“All the studies that we know show that happier employees are more productive, they are more engaged, and they can contribute a lot more to the company. That’s going to help employees have a better relationship with work, at the same time also to help companies improve their productivity and thereby improving both their top line as well as their bottom line.
For us, that is what matters the most.” This focus addresses the growing demand for better work-life integration, mental wellbeing support, and a more empathetic corporate culture, which are becoming crucial factors in talent attraction and retention.
“One HP”: Integrating Technology, Services, and Software for a Unified Experience
In response to these megatrends and to elevate the employee experience, HP offers a comprehensive suite of cutting-edge technologies, spanning Personal Computers (PCs), Print solutions, and its Poly meeting room solutions. However, Mr. Koh emphasized that technology hardware is only one component of a larger, more holistic strategy.
“First, of course, we have to deliver the technology, and you can see out there from both PC as well as meetings, we have among the best technology in the world. And it’s not just about speeds anymore; it is not. What it is, is about adding layers on top of the hardware technology in the form of software, in the form of services, and all of that leveraging AI to make the user experience a lot better,” he explained.
Under the “One HP” philosophy, the company is dedicated to ensuring its diverse product categories—PCs, printers, and Poly devices—work together seamlessly and more intelligently. “In the past, PCs worked very well in the PC environment, printers in the past worked very well in the print environment by themselves, meeting rooms by themselves also work very well. But in the past, until now, no one has been able to bring all these different endpoint devices together from a manageability point of view, from a security point of view, from a usability point of view,” Mr. Koh noted.
“The only company that’s providing all these different endpoint devices, we have started to integrate them and make them work better together. So that if you have an HP PC, if you have an HP printer, if you have an HP Poly device, it will all work better together.”
He illustrated this with a practical example: “For example, if you are dialing in from your notebook, but there are three other people in a conference room, what happened? You got a lot of feedback, right? Because that’s what happens, because of microphones, But with HP, we are working to make sure that the PC will recognize the Poly room and turn itself off automatically, so you don’t have that bad experience.” This integration simplifies IT management, strengthens security across the device ecosystem, and ultimately enhances user productivity by removing friction points.
Furthermore, “One HP” signifies a streamlined engagement model for customers and channel partners. “One HP also means we are dedicated to making sure that our channel partners, our customers, only see one HP, not many, many different smaller HPs. We want to make sure that it is a lot simpler for customers and channel partners to work with HP, to make it more efficient for them when they engage HP because we do so many different things across the board for them.”
Steadfast Commitment to Thailand: Localizing Strategy for Cultural Resonance
While HP operates as a global corporation, it deeply understands that each country and culture possesses unique characteristics, necessitating tailored approaches for individual markets. Mr. Koh highlighted HP’s strategy in Thailand as a case in point: “Overall, regionalization is—it’s still a global company, but we understand that every country, every culture is different, and we need to respond differently to each individual market.
For example, even though we have global marketing campaigns—the sponsor for Scuderia Ferrari HP, we’re also a sponsor for Real Madrid—we also make sure that we engage locally. So in Thailand, we use the local social media influencers, Mario Maurer is one of them, and we make sure that we are able to relate to the local culture in the local language.”
HP’s commitment extends to increased investment in Thailand, underscoring the market’s potential and its significance within the Southeast Asian region. “And we are even investing a lot more in Thailand, You will hear more about it later on. But, you know, that is the commitment that HP is doing from a global perspective and also a regional perspective, especially in Thailand. And we’re all very proud of the fact that we are contributing significantly to Thailand and the Thai people” Mr. Koh concluded in his opening remarks.
In essence, HP’s direction under Mr. Koh Kong Meng’s leadership in the region is characterized by a profound understanding of global shifts, a fusion of technological innovation with human-centric needs, and a vision to create a future of work that is sustainable, efficient, and fulfilling for all. This approach also reinforces HP’s role as a robust and reliable partner for its customers and for Thai society at large, as it navigates the complexities of the modern digital era.
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