On October 19, 2023, Advantech, a global intelligent systems and embedded solutions provider, held the “Embedded Edge Computing Industry Partner Summit” in Shenzhen. At the summit, Zhang Jiahao, global general manager of Advantech Embedded IoT Platform business Group, introduced the development strategy of Advantech EIoT (Embedded IoT, later referred to as EIoT), and he stressed that the technology focus of the summit is the combination of AI and iot, the prospect of edge computing, and the importance of establishing lasting cooperation with global strategic partners. Advantech will continue to be committed to the industrial application of AIoT, maintain product and technological innovation of embedded platforms, and build industrial iot intelligence with strategic partners.

After the meeting, Mr. Zhang Jiahao, global general manager of the Embedded Internet of Things Platform business group, accepted an interview with the reporter and exchanged in-depth information about Advantech’s upcoming third globalization transformation and the “Sector Driven” strategy behind it.

Start again, from product driven to industry driven

As a company with a 40-year history of struggle, Advantech has always been adhering to the spirit of innovation and change. At the same time, as a product and solution provider in the industrial field, Advantech attaches great importance to the updating and iteration of product performance and technology: based on solid product performance and the gradual improvement of production lines, Advantech’s global operating model has brought phased success to the company. However, with the continuous development of the market, Advantech is no longer satisfied with a single product sales and technological change, and the gene drive of enterprise change must be changed again with the market demand. “From product-driven to industry-driven, this is not only a transformation, but also a rebirth.” Zhang Jiahao said that Advantech’s third global transformation is the crystallization of four decades of accumulated experience and insights.

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When talking about “Sector Driven”, Zhang Jiahao said that this is not just a slogan, but the core idea of Advantech’s future development. He believes that to truly meet market demand, you must think from the perspective of the entire industry. Take embedded technology as an example, from automotive, medical, industrial automation to consumer electronics, embedded technology is playing a key role. Advantech hopes to deeply participate in these industries and provide customers with more complete and efficient solutions. “When you move from product thinking to industry orientation, the needs of your partners change as well. For example, electric vehicle charging piles are not only concerned about CPU, memory or serial port specifications, but also about details such as AC and DC power conversion.” Zhang Jiahao said.

He went on to explain, “Embedded is an industry, and we are focusing on that industry today. In addition, emerging industries, such as energy-saving green energy, electric vehicles and robotics, are also our focus. Each industry has its own unique needs and challenges, and our goal is to provide the solutions these industries need.” Zhangjiahao also mentioned another focus of transformation, that is, the development of the region. “Advantech is headquartered in Taipei, China, but we are also very focused on the development of other regions. We want to have teams in each country that are not just sales teams, but also product planning capabilities.”

In the face of great uncertainty and variability in the current market, Advantech said that challenges and opportunities coexist. Zhang Jiahao admitted: “The transformation to industry driven means that we need to obtain a lot of industry information and feed this information back to the product development department. For example, for charging points for electric vehicles or robots, we need not only the specifications of the CPU or the specifications of the memory, but also other more complex technical details.”

Relative to the challenges, Zhang Jiahao is optimistic about Advantech’s future development in the embedded field: “We have more than 20 years of experience in this field and are doing very well. Not only to provide a standard platform for customers, but also to provide a series of R&D services and technical design services. In addition, the introduction of AI technology opens up new opportunities for us. AI can not only be applied to the traditional embedded field, but also drive the development of edge computing and embedded computing.”