HP (Hewlett Packard) has been known to take big steps to ensure that they are in the right direction to be world leaders in technology.

In 2015, HP separated into two independent companies; Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company - focusing on servers, storage, networking, security and corporate services and HP Inc, which continued selling PCs and printers.

AWANI Review had a chat with Koh Kong Meng, Managing Director for Southeast Asia and Korea for HP Inc. about the company's strategy in the print business, a 55 billion dollar market.

We are market leaders in the print business as well as the PC business. Worldwide, HP owns almost half of the workstation business

“HP Strategy has been very simple since the separation which happened almost three years ago. It is about focusing on the different parts of our business through different time frames," says Koh.

“We have been on a tremendous growth path since the separation, we have invested in both businesses and our results speak for themselves." According to research firm IDC, HP became the world’s leading personal computer manufacturer in terms of market share in 2017.

"We are market leaders in the print business as well as the PC business. Worldwide, HP owns almost half of the workstation business.”

HP Inc has followed up on their growth strategy by making significant investments through acquisitions in their print business. “An example would be HP acquiring Samsung Print Business which became official last November."

“It is really about two things, leveraging on our core and growth to build the future," Koh adds.

HP is also taking a huge interest in the small and medium-sized businesses and aims to lead the segment's push into the fourth industrial revolution.

“It is all about customisations to a level of one. For example, in our 3D Printers, you can print a unique product one at a time. Something like an insole of a shoe to dentures for a specific person, we can help SME’s to have mass customisations for their customers.”

“In Malaysia, what we can see is that the market is growing significantly - small start-ups are coming into play to address niches or smaller segments of the market," says Koh. “They are customised to populations in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor Bahru."

Koh also highlights the importance of the small medium enterprises being a key growth driver for the future. “Right now, it is a good time to start building an ecosystem with to enable them to secure their growth.”