Asia is well placed to play a part in what Acer co-founder and honorary chairman, Stan Shih, calls a “New Si-vilisation”, and the development of a global Silicon Valley.

Shih was speaking at the closing event of the hardware, software and services company’s 40th anniversary celebration in Taipei and said such a concept will be defined by radical technologies and smart cities.

Acer invited government and industry leaders to discuss and share their thoughts about the future of global technology and Shih’s keynote speech called on governments and businesses to create policies to help foster an environment for new thinking. Keynote speeches were also presented by industry leaders from Microsoft and TSMC.

"It’s an honour to have been able to play a part in the democratisation of the personal computer and help make the benefits of technology accessible to the many," said Shih. “Today Acer looks back on 40 years of breaking barriers between people and technology, but more importantly we are also looking ahead into the future to a new Si-vilisation that will be defined by life-changing technologies and smart cities, all driven by market needs.”

With the first 40 years of Acer’s timeline defined primarily by its growth in hardware, Shih’s keynote speech shed light onto how a new wave of “Si-nnovation” will occur and will be driven by the integration of hardware, software and services, leading to the development of more people-centric technologies. He said this progress presents Asia an amazing opportunity to capture new market prospects that relate to smart cities.

The silicon-based technology that fuelled the growth in personal computing paved the way for Silicon Valley in California to lead the world in creating new business models. With its sizable market and proven ICT capabilities, Asia is in great position to do the same and help foster a new “Si-vilisation".

Taiwan’s Minister of National Development Council, Tain-Jy Chen, also voiced the government’s support and commitment: “We aim to continue our efforts in supporting Taiwan’s manufacturing and R&D to bring even more progress to the world’s technology industry.”

In addition, Acer’s president of Bring Your Own Cloud (BYOC) Smart Products business, Maverick Shih, and other panel members tackled related topics during two panel discussions, one titled “Internet of Beings” and another titled “Innovations”.

The day-long event also included Acer’s Tech Showcase which gave attendees a look at what an early phase of the New Si-vilisation could be by exhibiting a full suite of the company’s latest BYOC products in the segments of smart transportation and smart cities, smart retail and integrated enterprise communications, programming kits, life and wellness solutions, among other applications of new people-centric technologies and solutions.

The forum was hosted jointly by Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs, National Development Council and Acer Inc. This event is part of a series of activities Acer has involved itself in this year to celebrate its 40th anniversary.

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