LIVE FROM CANALYS CHANNELS FORUM, HONG KONG: Lenovo chairman and CEO Yang Yuanqing (pictured) said its shift to narrow the geographic focus of its handset business is starting to pay off, as he also outlined the company’s IoT and artificial intelligence (AI) strategies.

He said previously its smartphone business tried to do business everywhere: “That strategy didn’t work, so we lost a lot of money.”

It shifted its focus to selective markets and a narrow price band, which he said “has been very helpful in turning the business around”. He said Q3 was a milestone for Motorola as it recorded its first profit in ten years.

Last month the company said it had streamlined its portfolio to reduce complexity and focused on scale in mainstream segments.

IoT
Yang said it has three approaches to capture a share of the growing smart IoT sector: making traditional devices including PCs and smartphones smarter; building new smart devices including speakers, displays and AR/VR headsets; and working to connect smart IoT devices and components to the cloud to give customers smart solutions.

The company is piloting a smart IoT-driven warehouse platform for one of the world’s largest retail companies to improve its efficiency.

He described intelligent transformation, an approach he said refers to tapping the unlimited potential of the Fourth Industrial Revolution through AI: “The true impact of AI will not only make our homes smarter and offices more efficient, but will also completely transform every value chain in every industry.”

As for its data centre business, the CEO said it hasn’t seen a turnaround yet, but is improving profitability every quarter.