Beyond the Device – My Top Takeaways from CES 2021

Our partners are incredible and have been at the center of how Microsoft delivers technologies, products, and solutions to customers around the world for decades. These partners make more possible, and after a year of tumult and accelerated innovation, they pulled out all the stops for the first-ever all-digital CES 2021. And I have to say, it was a delight to see all the amazing innovations announced during CES for consumers, business users, and gamers that enable a modern work and play environment.

Embracing the all-digital event platform, I spent time engaging with several of our device partners through a series of video conversations. Interviewing executives from a variety of our Windows device and silicon partners, I learned about their latest announcements and how they are using Microsoft’s platforms and tools to build intelligent cloud and intelligent edge devices and solutions.

But what really wows me is the great work happening across our partner ecosystem, beyond the devices and solutions. These discussions were the highlight of my CES 2021 experience and showed me just how much we are all committed to enabling enduring connections - no matter where we might live, work, learn, and play – and the role innovation will have in improving the world and the lives of people everywhere this year.

Our partners are accelerating innovation for gaming PCs.

High-performance laptops for gaming and creating have been a bright spot in the PC market for several years, but I don’t think any of us could have predicted just how essential they would become in 2020. In fact, I learned from NVIDIA that they’ve experienced about 7X growth in the last 7 years. 

According to NVIDA, there are 48 million active gaming laptops being enjoyed worldwide and a staggering 14 billion hours of playtime was recorded in 2020. Demand for top line gaming PCs is at an all-time high and all our device partners are fast tracking innovation in this category. The executives I spoke with are hyper focused on ensuring customers have access to high performance products and services so they can continue with their everyday lives from home - working, studying, keeping in touch with their loved ones, and gaming.

Times like these highlight the importance of having dependable partnerships, because together we’re able to move the needle, bringing powerful experiences to Windows 10 gamers in 2021.

Our partners are actively implementing sustainability and social responsibility practices.

Throughout many of the interviews, it was clear that sustainability and social responsibility are core to how our partners do business. At Microsoft, we’re taking responsibility for our land footprint by committing to permanently protect and restore more land than we use by 2025. We are also offering tools and services to help anyone, anywhere to model impacts from climate and human behavior, so that we can help accelerate improvements in environmental decision making. 

I am proud to work for a company that is so mindful about sustainable business practices and I’m incredibly impressed with the advancements by our partners to create a more sustainable and socially responsible world.

HP is focused on sustainability in manufacturing and a great example is the HP Dragonfly G2. The outer box packaging is 100% sourced from sustainable components and 80% of the mechanical components are made from recycled materials. Dell also recently announced the first PCs made with bioplastics from tree waste, using this new material in their Latitude 5000 and Precision 3560 products.

At the outset of the pandemic, AMD knew that high performance computing was going to be crucial in understanding the virus. As a result, AMD and tech partners have donated 12 petaflops of high-performance computing to 20 partners and institutions focused on finding a solution to COVID-19.

ASUS has taken a lead in designing products with social responsibility in mind. ASUS was  recognized as Asia’s most socially responsible company in 2020, with a commitment to reducing environmental impact is part of their processes from start to finish. They are also using their products and knowledge to bridge the digital gap by establishing digital opportunity centers worldwide where more than half a million people have found support.

Our partners keep inclusivity top of mind.

One of my professional goals is to advance diversity and representation in our industry. I’m proud of Microsoft’s commitment to diversity and inclusivity both within the company and on a greater global scale. These values are at the core of every project and relationship my team and I build.

That’s why I found particular joy in hearing how our partners also feel a sense of urgency and need to make space for more female representation in the tech industry.

Lenovo puts their company culture front and center, sharing with me how they are “all in" for customers and partners, peers, their surrounding communities, and diversity and inclusion practices. They want to provide an environment where employees can bring their best selves to work, continuing to learn and grow, every day.

In speaking with female leaders at Acer, Dell, Intel and Lenovo, they all talked about the importance of helping others and collaborating to advance female leadership throughout the company. For us, it’s about bringing others along with you, remaining true to who you are, and challenging the status quo.

Stay tuned, for a follow up piece that focuses on advancing female leadership, inspired by my conversations with these amazing women.

Our partners place security center stage.

This past year has really underscored the importance of the PC, and it remains the preferred device for productivity, connectivity, and security – as those experiences are more crucial than ever.

Partners today are empathetic to the security challenges IT and the workforce in general is dealing with. They recognize that developing PCs that leverage security at all levels is critical, from the silicon, to the software and hardware. They strive to ensure IT is prepared if security threats happen, and they have self-healing PC solutions in place that detect and neutralize threats before they ever happen.

At Microsoft, we work tirelessly to guarantee that the privacy and confidentiality of the data you provide to us will be protected. Learning about the steps our partners are taking to ground their own technology and future innovations in secure and trusted platforms was just amazing.

Our CEO said in the beginning of the pandemic that we have seen 2 years of digital transformation packed into two months. This has been a source of positive inspiration as I have personally seen businesses and partners survive and, in some cases, thrive as they leverage our investments in intelligent cloud and intelligent edge platforms.

It has been an honor to work alongside device partners like those I had the pleasure of interviewing, who are so committed to meet demand, and to get people and businesses the devices and solutions they need to keep going. I believe we will make even greater strides in 2021 through the tremendous innovation on the horizon, and by continuing to work with a great ecosystem of partners.

Visit our CES 2021 microsite to watch the Global Partner Solutions executive interview series and to learn more about the latest products and solutions announced.