Known for its gaming and high-performance laptops, MSI celebrates two decades in the market this year. We spoke to Cemil Zenginel, MSI’s regional manager for the Czech Republic and 16 other countries in Central and Eastern Europe, about what’s behind its success, how it’s adapting to new trends and where technology is headed.
MSI, one of the leading brands in the technology world, celebrates 20 years in the laptop industry. I am pleased to meet with the head of the Czech branch of MSI, Mr. Cemil Zenginel, the regional manager responsible for the Czech Republic, Slovakia and 16 other countries in Central and Eastern Europe. Let’s introduce ourselves first.
Good morning. I am a Physics graduate from ITU (Istanbul, Türkiye) and have been working in the IT field for over 25 years. I have held various positions in this industry including sales, marketing, product management, manufacturing processes and service. I have been working at MSI since February 2015, that is, approximately 10 years, and in July 2022 I also headed the MSI branch in the Czech Republic.
MSI is trying to differentiate itself with a strategy that includes or attempts to include the high-end and gaming laptop segment. Of course, it also offers thin and light options in line with current trends, but I would be interested to know what the laptop should look like from MSI’s point of view, i.e. what the company pays attention to when developing a new model, what functions it prefers. .
Laptops that offer the best gaming experience have been our priority for a long time. MSI gaming products have been a huge part of MSI’s progress so far. In recent years, as people grew older in the corporate environment, there were those who preferred MSI products only for the better gaming experience. In today’s environment, the needs of this loyal audience continue to evolve in different directions. We could not remain indifferent to this change. With so many variables in this equation, we are sure to fill in the top 3 values unchanged.
- Luxurious appearance: MSI has transformed notebooks from simple computers into objects of interest. By collaborating with designers such as Hiroshi Fujiwara and leading brands such as Mercedes-AMG Motorsport, MSI has given laptops a luxurious style.
- Extreme Performance: MSI has never stopped delivering extreme performance, creating powerful products that meet the expectations of even the most demanding users.
- Innovative Technologies: MSI continuously pushes the boundaries of the laptop world with the latest technologies.
One of the team’s latest successes is a limited edition laptop created in collaboration with Mercedes-AMG.
Of course, MSI doesn’t have many cheap entry-level models that are easier to sell, isn’t it a tricky strategy?
I believe that MSI is a company that has made it big in the laptop world with its cooling technology. Cooler Boost is now seen almost as a brand in its own right, offering incredible cooling performance, which is perhaps why Intel uses MSI laptops most often in its comparison charts. This is where MSI’s investment is clear. Apart from cooling, what does MSI invest the most in designing a laptop? It’s impossible to differentiate based on components like CPU, GPU or display, all brands have access to pretty much the same hardware, so what does MSI do differently?
These days we are celebrating 20 years of laptop production, but MSI was founded 38 years ago and has been producing components since 1986. Now our range is so diverse that you can assemble a computer entirely from MSI components, with the exception of the processor and RAM. This also applies to monitors and peripherals.
By offering this range of products, you can combine different research and development results into one product. This is one of our achievements in the field of cooling. We have the research and development to provide the best cooling for graphics cards over 450W, and we use this technology in many of our products, including laptops.
One of the most powerful laptops to date, MSI Titan 18 HX
You have some incredible models to choose from, like the Titan, an insane machine with desktop performance. All of these premium machines are familiar to those who want the best and the fastest, from gamers to architects. But there are other trends – the transition from powerful solutions to thin and light computers. Since MSI is synonymous with performance, I’m curious to see how development goes here.
Trends are constantly changing, so MSI also has to adapt. Directions of development are constantly changing, and we understand that what brought us here may not lead us anywhere else. When you only follow development trends, you fall behind in the race with your competitors. To produce revolutionary products in this field, you need to know the users. One of the most basic conditions is listening. We take advantage of the fact that everything from product concept to software and hardware development and production is carried out in our own factories. This integrated approach allows us to quickly change product features based on feedback and prioritize from a consumer perspective. I believe this is one of the most important factors for MSI’s success.
The industry is changing: for many years Intel was the dominant processor manufacturer, but today AMD also has very good solutions, and solutions based on the ARM platform are also on the way. How does MSI see the future? Will we see all new technologies and platforms in the MSI lineup, or will the company take a wait-and-see approach and enter new platforms only after they mature?
We offer the latest solutions with the latest INTEL Lunar Lake processors, and soon Intel Arrow Lake HX and AMD Strix Point, which contain a chip that accelerates AI calculations and is highly energy efficient. Different platforms may offer advantages in certain areas, but we strive to deliver products in a way that is as close to perfect as possible to the overall user experience. As long as we can correctly identify the current needs of users, we can expand the capabilities of our platforms.
MSI Prestige A16 AI+ Thin and Light Office Laptop
Looking back 20 years ago, were there any seminal works and eras that you cannot forget, for better or for worse?
In 20 years, MSI has achieved many milestones: laptops that stand out in the market. However, I am personally most interested in products that bring innovation to the industry. For example, the world’s first laptop with one-button overclocking is the 2007 MSI GX600. In 2013, we launched the GS70 Stealth, the world’s thinnest gaming laptop. Immediately after this, in 2014, the Titan GT80 SLI was released as the world’s first laptop with a mechanical keyboard. In 2018, we can add to this list the GS65 Stealth, the world’s first thin gaming laptop with a 144Hz panel. All these products made a big splash at one time.
What awaits us in the short and medium term. Intel and AMD have introduced new mobile processors, the latest being Intel Lunar Lake, and NVIDIA is preparing new cards. Can we get any clues about future products?
As you know, new products are presented during two leading industry events. One is January’s CES in Las Vegas, and the other is June’s Computex in Taiwan. At CES 2025, we expect all the silicon vendors to announce exciting products. At MSI, we strive to bring these solutions to users through products that maximize the overall user experience.
MSI recently launched gaming portable devices that pack high-performance hardware into small devices, allowing gamers to play at any time and enjoy the game.
PC based portable gaming consoles are becoming a new and popular trend, you have a product and more are coming soon. Do you think the gaming world will move to portable devices, what potential do you see in this?
MSI CLAW is like a crawling baby when it was first released. Now, thanks to software updates, it works and is ready to go. It’s amazing that games we thought could only be played on desktops a few years ago can be played in such a small form factor. With support for Wi-Fi7 and Thunderbolt 4, analog Hall effect controllers, console-friendly MSI CENTER-M software, battery capacity and speakers, it is one of the most powerful products on the market in terms of user experience. We’re preparing a new version of Claw 8 AI+, which will feature the latest Intel processor based on Lunar Lake architecture, a powerful new iGPU, Copilor+ PC certification, and many general improvements. We will continue to develop products in this area.
Finally, we will talk about MSI Czech and you. I think you became a regional branch, how did you achieve this…
MSI has a strong and recognizable name and a long history in the region: it has been officially present in the local market since 2008, and products have been available through distribution partners long before that. The MSI brand has gradually strengthened its position in the market, has been and remains an important supplier of components for many domestic system integrators, and a partner of IT exhibitions and various gaming events. We are pleased to have a strong and extensive product availability in the local market, both in terms of range and specification, allowing us to meet the widest expectations of end users. We are also pleased that all these successes thanks to our partners have resulted in us seeing 51% growth in the Czech Republic and Slovakia markets in the first three quarters of 2024 compared to the same period last year, when the overall market was trending downward.
Source :Indian TV
