Lenovo: The New Technology Journey

Cassie Jeppson, Director NA Channel Programs, Operations & Strategy, Lenovo We've watched our SMB friends overcome so many things over the last few years between the pandemic, inflation, supply chain issues, labor shortages, running businesses over the last few years has been incredibly challenging. And I know that many of you in the room have felt that pain as well. But more than ever before, organizations are leaning on those advances in technology to create memorable moments for their customers, and this is contributing to that heightened demand in the technology market specifically. And because of this dramatic change in the way that SMBs work, then I'm calling this the SMB revolution. According to the Small Business Association, there are over 33 million small businesses in the US alone. And those small businesses are employing over 46% of private sector employees. And with so many people working for those small businesses and so many of those choose local campaigns, more and more people are looking to those SMBs for their retail services and great experiences. AI is something that's going to allow us to offload the mundane focus on the strategic, assisting with efficiencies and contributing to productivity. That's going to change the way that we live and work forever. Right, guys? So how many of you have sat in all of these different AI presentation patterns? And it's feel like people are saying a lot of neat things, but what does it mean for me, and how do I capture some of that and monetize this trend that is coming our way? There are 31 million 4 year old devices in North America alone. Seventy percent of those are running Windows 10. Not compatible with most of these AI solutions. And I know that there are many users within your customer base that are some of those entry level AI users. An Intel Core Ultra Core processor with Copilot is an entry level AI device, and that's what the majority of users are going to be. But you can start telling your AI story today and capitalizing on these 31 million devices, that's AI. So that's I number one. The second is the edge. How many of you guys are having conversations with your customers about edge devices today? It's a little less scary than a really big server conversation, right? And so all edge does is bring that computing power closer to where the data is just outside the data center. Right. And that is going to allow your customers to experience faster results, provide better experiences. It can also be a little bit more cost effective. There's a lot of technology out there. Right. And it's it's pretty overwhelming. Who do I go to and when? Who do I use for what. Well, from the pocket to the cloud, from the fingertips to the edge, Lenovo is the only technology provider that can support you and your customers. Being that one stop shop for standardizing your portfolio and achieving that ease of doing business that was never before attainable. So the support and the service and solutions that we're providing for our customers are those building blocks to providing those great experiences and those moments that matter. We do have a lot of those portfolio and solution of services that, focus on business outcomes as well as digital transformation. We're doubling down on the business and industry technology while continuing to enhance the services in every area of our portfolio. Actually, the partners that are using our services, over 30% are white. Labeling those as their own and those that are white labeling are actually experiencing 2X faster growth than than partners that aren't. so let's talk about the services that you're offering to your customers. Let's look at those solutions where we can complement the services that you have so that you can focus on those strategic and proprietary offerings and differentiate yourself even more in the market. And last but not least, sustainability. Anybody here have sustainability practices or thinking about these things already? Lots of hands. We are experiencing almost 70% of our commercial RFPs are requiring a sustainability model to be shared. We have one. We actually launched the Lenovo 360 circle about a year and a half ago. Our ESG services go beyond the environment, right? It starts with our people. So the social elements are super important to us. We have a goal to have over 27% women and minorities in leadership within the next three years, and we are on track to be able to exceed that. So next steps for you guys. Three things, let’s connect and talk about AI. Let's talk about the fundamental elements that you can do now to start having those conversations with your customers, capitalizing on those 31 million devices. Visit us in our booth. Let's talk a little bit more about edge. And then let's grow together to soar to new heights with your customers and create those memorable moments. Look forward to talking to all of you guys within the next couple of weeks!