Arun ShankarIn 1985, Toshiba developed the world’s first commercial laptop computer and the world’s first notebook computer. These two computing innovations allowed people to safely and securely, work anywhere they wanted and defined today’s mobile computing market.
Dynabook has continued Toshiba’s tradition of firsts by developing, among others, the first monocular AR solution, and the world’s thinnest and lightest hybrid laptop, in 2020. Under Toshiba the company primarily focused on the consumer business whereas Dynabook’s strategy is 100% B2B.
Dynabook has progressed in establishing a secure footing following its separation from Toshiba Corporation, amidst a dynamic and shifting environment. Dynabook has won business in the past years, with support and investment from Sharp fuelling its expansion.
Dynabook is a dynamic, entrepreneurial new business, built on the foundations of Toshiba heritage, Foxconn buying and manufacturing power, Sharp technologies in the field of displays, sensors, digital office solutions, and financial stability that comes with the acquisition by Sharp Corporation in October 2018.
Amongst the first products that incorporate technologies developed by TCS and Sharp were Dynabook’s G-series laptops that combine a sub-kilogram weight with a 19-hour battery life.
Dynabook has expanded its portfolio extensively. The Toshiba PC business was predominantly focused on Ultrabooks, and mid-range and high-end propositions. Dynabook has brought more entry-level products to the market. This has brought a lot of partners back to the vendor, particularly those that are transacting with schools and SMBs.
And while laptops remain an integral part of its heritage and future strategy, Dynabook now provides non-laptop solutions to meet the requirements of different areas of the marketplace.
Dynabook has launched a business in Turkey, investing in Middle East, and Africa, as well as strengthening its team across Eastern Europe.
Dynabook has the procurement strength of Foxconn which, combined with Sharp components and Toshiba’s engineering facilities, makes for an efficient business model.
With its 100% focus on the B2B sector, its solutions offering does not carry tight margins. Dynabook offers a range of accessories to support the lower margin laptop business.
DynaEdge is a prime example of a vendor’s ability to innovate. The edge computing market has accelerated substantially over the past year driven by factors such as the pandemic and 5G. Dynabook’s research has found 63% of organisations plan to deploy smart glasses within the next three years. In this case, Dynabook identified the demand and developed the product.
It is hard to accurately predict the future in this industry as it is so volatile. Take the pandemic as an example of new demands accelerating the development of certain technologies and deprioritising others. The future is to keep innovating and responding, and to avoid businesses becoming stagnant. The future of product development will be all about responding to demand.
As a purely B2B focused brand, Dynabook is positioned quite differently from other brands in this space.
Dynabook’s heritage within the education space dates 30+ years. Microsoft selected the Satellite Pro E10-S to be one of the first devices globally to run the education-focused Windows 11 SE. Dynabook understands every school, college and university is unique. That’s why Dynabook has developed a range of laptops and tablets.
Within the commercial space, Dynabook has expanded to offer its most comprehensive range of business devices, from ultra-mobile two-in-ones to budget-conscious all-rounders.
Dynabook remains a 100% channel-focused business.
“All business leaders want to grow the company they lead, and I am no different”
As President, Damian Jaume explains his motivation and value system as he drives the strategy, business and innovation of Dynabook Europe.
I recently celebrated my 20th anniversary at Dynabook and have been fortunate enough in that time to work in almost every corner of the business. I started in a sales role in 2001, and since then have held various roles across the company which have enabled me to gain a broad view of all the moving parts of the business, and how they work together to deliver value to the organisation.
After working in sales, I then moved into more strategic roles. Firstly, planning for retail and commercial business lines, before shifting to operational financial planning and commercial management. These roles allowed me to grasp a true understanding of Dynabook’s business operations from the bottom up, and the experience gained is hugely influential in how I currently lead the business every day in my role as President of Dynabook Europe.
I took that position in 2014 and am proud to have recently become the longest serving President in the company’s history. All business leaders want to grow the company they lead, and I am no different – it is essential to succeed in the position.
Overcoming the challenge of growing Dynabook from a small part of a large corporation to a major player in its own right has shaped the last few years of my tenure. Yet, I want to have a significant cultural impact as well, to foster employees that are proud to work for Dynabook and are passionate about what they do.
Snapshot
- Dynabook has continued Toshiba’s tradition of firsts.
- Dynabook is a dynamic, entrepreneurial new business, built on the foundations of Toshiba heritage.
- Dynabook has brought entry-level products to the market, and this has brought a lot of partners back to the vendor.
- Dynabook now provides non-laptop solutions to meet the requirements of different areas of the marketplace.
- Dynabook has launched a business in Turkey, investing in Middle East and Africa, as well as strengthening its team across Eastern Europe.
- Dynabook has procurement strength of Foxconn, combined with Sharp components and Toshiba’s engineering facilities.
- With 100% focus on the B2B sector, Dynabook solutions do not carry tight margins.
- Dynabook offers a range of accessories to support the lower margin laptop business.
- DynaEdge is a prime example of the vendor’s ability to innovate.
- Dynabook’s research has found 63% of organisations plan to deploy smart glasses within the next three years.
- Dynabook has continued Toshiba’s tradition of firsts by developing the first monocular AR solution.
- Dynabook developed the world’s thinnest and lightest hybrid laptop, in 2020.
Dynabook has built on Toshiba’s heritage and moved into the B2B market space with non-laptop solutions like accessories, AR solutions, edge devices.
