World's third largest PC vendor Lenovo Group yesterday announced a strategic partnership with e-business giant Alibaba and chipmaker Intel to tap the burgeoning e-commerce market.

The move is expected to help Lenovo gain more market share from competitors. As the first step to mark the partnership, Lenovo will launch a tailor-made desktop PC product targeting e-commerce for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in September, according to Xia Li, vice-president of Lenovo.

The special desktop will embed Alibaba's platform, Winport, allowing users to access e-commerce business efficiently and easily, according to Xia.

"We found that one reason for SMEs' reluctance in developing e-commerce is a lack of knowledge in the area, and our product will go a long way in helping them," said Xia.

Less than 1 percent of China's 42 million SMEs are developing e-business, but the market has witnessed rapid growth in recent years, with a total of over 2,000 players in this sector now.

Xia declined to forecast the number of e-commerce PC shipment this year. "It is hard to forecast as it is a new product and we will get only four months this year for sales."

Cheng Hong, an analyst with CCID Consulting Co, an IT consulting firm, said: "Lenovo will find a new niche market and a new business model by launching the e-commerce desktop PC. It will boost its corporate sales in the long run." But Xia said the product will not replace its Yangtian Series, Lenovo's flagship desktop PC, for corporate customers.

Shipment of Yangtian Series last year hit 1.6 million units, and the number could jump 25 percent to 2 million units in 2008, according to Xia.

Total shipment of Lenovo's PC products hit 10.61 million units, capturing 28.1 percent market share and making Lenovo the largest PC vendor in China in 2007, according to IDC, a leading provider of global IT research and consultancy.

"We are encouraged by the alliance with Lenovo as the move will accelerate our pace of providing one-stop services to SME e-commerce," said Wei Zhe, CEO of Alibaba, China's leading e-commerce portal.

Alibaba, along with Intel, launched a special program, "Powering China", in May to help SMEs develop their business by using e-commerce tools. More players will join the program in the coming days, according to Wei.

After the launch of this desktop, Lenovo is scheduled to introduce new e-commerce models in its product line of notebooks and accessories, a move that will allow Lenovo provide one-stop solution for different customers.

On whether the product will be extended to the overseas market, Xia said: "That is on our agenda. The product could be introduced in markets like Russia. But that depends on whether Alibaba will extend its business to these areas."

(China Daily July 3, 2008)