Acer's strong growth in the mobile computing sector over the past 18 months has created the perception that this is the brand's only strongpoint.
"Nothing could be further from the truth," says Traci Maynard, Acer general manager at Tarsus. "Acer has a full range of quality products that meet the needs of any small or medium-business in its portfolio.
"And the range has recently been updated with new solutions that bring even better cost-efficiency to the table," she adds.
"A micro business can invest in any of these solutions with full confidence that its growth needs can be met without having to discard existing infrastructure, while larger enterprises are safe in the knowledge that they have access to a full spectrum of Acer products.
Starting at the desktop level, Maynard says the Extensa E264 offers high performance at a very affordable price. This model is available in a number of configurations, from an entry-level option sporting a Celeron processor and 1GB DDR RAM through to a high-end Core 2 Duo processor and 4GB memory.
Available from a retail price of R5 499 (incl VAT), the E264 comes bundled with Microsoft Vista Business and Acer's Empowering Technology that allows users to take control of their hardware management.
The perfect companion to the E264 is Acer's new V223 22-inch LCD monitor.
"Launched towards the end of last year, the V223 forms part of the new Value Series of monitors that has been designed for professionals looking for exceptional graphics and comfortable viewing without breaking the bank," she says.
"And with a retail price that starts at R2 399 (incl VAT), it's suited to users doing simple tasks such as word processing, right through to high-end users involved in graphics rendering.
Focusing on mobile, executives are catered for by two outstanding notebooks - the TravelMate TM 5730 and the TM 7730 - offering superior performance for people on the go.
"Both models are packed with the latest computing and communications technologies encased in a stylish design that couples performance with style," she says.
The TM 5730 replaces the TM 5720, and is suited to the small business, SOHO and corporate environments by virtue of its power, speed and ease of portability.
Powered by the Intel Centrino 2 mobile processor using the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processor, this model is also available with a large serial ATA hard disk, Blu-ray Disc/DVD-Super Multi double-layer drive and up to 4GB of dual-channel memory.
Networking and communication capabilities have been enhanced and now include Intel's Wireless WiFi Link 5100/5300, WiFi Certified network connection. This WLAN solution lets users stay in constant, secure contact with customers via connectivity to any 802.11-based network.
The TravelMate 5730 series retails at R13 999 (incl VAT) for the dedicated VGA model, while the shared-VGA model is available at a recommended price of R15 999 (incl VAT).
"Boasting many shared services and technologies with this notebook is its bigger brother, the high-performance TravelMate 7730," Maynard continues.
The most obvious differences are the larger (17-inch) LCD monitor, the standard Intel Centrino 2 processor with NVidia 9300M graphics card and 4GB of memory.
The TM 7730 packs some serious punch, and is able to meet the most exacting demands of high-end users. This machine is available at a recommended retail price of R15 999 (incl VAT) with shared VGA, and R19 999 (incl VAT) for the dedicated VGA unit.
"Fleshing out mobility even further is Acer's new P1266 video projector that offers reliability, ease-of-use and high performance to the business professional.
"Portability is ensured by the projector's 2.5kg weight and Acer's InstantPack technology that eliminates the need for cooling down after shutdown," she says.
The P1266's versatility is assured due to easy connection to PCs, notebooks, DVD players and game consoles by way of the HDMI, D-sub, RCA and S-video ports.
The unit also features Acer's ColorBoost II enhancement technology that offers new improvements and presents ultra-vivid images in brilliant colours that are supported by a high brightness level of 2500 ANSI lumens and a contrast ratio of 2000:1.
The P1266 offers 4 000 hours projection (lamp life) and one built-in speaker, and is supplied together with a remote control with a laser pointer and page up/down functions.
All Acer projectors are covered by a standard two-year carry-in warranty, with the P1266 available at a recommended retail price of R9 099 (incl VAT).
"The final weapon in Acer's SME arsenal is its Altos G540 server that offers outstanding value for money and scalability," Maynard says.
Packed with one or two Intel Xeon 5000 Series processors with 64-bit processing technology, the G540 can also be fitted with Quad Core processors.
High-end reliability is offered in this value-packed server by means of the redundant power supplies and hot-swap enabled RAID-based hard disk drives. The G540 is also highly scalable and expandable due to its Serial Attached SCSI technology, with throughputs of up to 3Gbps per channel.
Enterprises experiencing strong growth can rely on this solution, as they are able to convert it from a tower to a rack-mounted configuration.
Over the coming months, Maynard says Tarsus will be focused on pushing this fuller range of solutions, as small and medium-sized companies look to update their technologies and regain a spot at the leading edge.
"And with sound pricing models and quality products such as these, there is no reason the Acer brand shouldn't dominate," she says.
"Despite the downturn in the economy we're looking forward to a healthy year," she concludes.
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