Dell Corporation, the world's third-largest computer maker, believes Thailand is among its top 10 growth opportunities in emerging markets this year thanks to the huge potential market and brilliant prospects of its telecommunications industry.
Anothai Wettayakorn, managing director of Dell Corporation (Thailand) and general manager for Indochina, holds the Dell XPS 13, which it dubs the world’s smallest laptop with a 13-inch display. It will cost US$2,000 when it is released next month.
The upcoming spectrum auction to provide fourth-generation (4G) wireless broadband services alongside the rapidly accelerating pace of mobility make Thailand one of the most promising markets in the Asean region for Dell.
"The local operating unit is expected to contribute the largest share of revenue for Dell in the Asean region this year with double-digit growth," said Anothai Wettayakorn, managing director of Dell Corporation (Thailand) and general manager for Indochina.
Dell Thailand saw single-digit revenue growth in 2013, generating the second-largest share of revenue in Asean. The company attributed the poor performance to the country's political problems.
Mr Anothai said Dell expected to see a rebound in the Thai notebook market, especially in the mid-to-high-tier segments and for gaming laptops.
Next month, Dell plans to introduce a premium laptop, the Dell XPS 13, which it dubs the world's smallest laptop with a 13-inch display. It will cost US$2,000.
According to global research firm GfK, Dell ranks third in the consumer notebook market in Thailand.
Mr Anothai said computer servers and storage were also growth areas for Dell thanks to surging demand for digital information and the increasing adoption of cloud-based data centres.
Rekhi Harjeert, Dell's general manager for South Asia, believes the personal computer industry can survive because demand for high-resolution notebooks and innovative applications is being driven by a robust upgrade cycle to the new-generation notebooks.
He said up to 250 million employees globally took their own devices to work in their offices to increase productivity.
James Johnston, Dell's executive director and general manager for Asia-Pacific, said Dell had increased its research and development spending from 1.6% to 2.1% of revenue since it became a private company in October 2013.
He claimed that Dell was the only technology vendor that can provide end-to-end services ranging from data centre infrastructure and software to end-user computing devices.