dtnovels Chapter 240 The Future Path of Kingsoft
Chapter 240 The Future Path of Kingsoft
"Alright," Ling Yun picked up the microphone again, "the first and second things are done. Now, let's talk about the third thing: chatting."
He walked back to the center of the stage, went up this time, and stood in front of the backdrop.
"You may know, or you may not, but Kingsoft was acquired by Star Technology at the end of last year." He got straight to the point. "Before the acquisition, the company was struggling, unable to pay salaries, and losing talent. After the acquisition, we invested capital, adjusted our direction, and focused our efforts on developing the Star System version of WPS 97. The product was launched last month, and the market feedback has been good."
The audience was silent; everyone was watching him.
"Some people asked me, why did you acquire Kingsoft? Xingchen Technology makes operating systems, games, hardware, and instant messaging, so why are you making office software?" Ling Yun paused. "My answer is: because office software is a basic tool that every individual and organization in the information age cannot do without. And Chinese people should have their own office software that has core technology, is easy to use, and is affordable."
His voice wasn't loud, but every word was clearly audible to everyone.
"Microsoft Office is very good and powerful. But it's expensive, and its technical standards and file formats are controlled by others. If we always follow other people's standards and always use other people's software, then we will never have a voice in this digital age."
Several veteran employees in the audience nodded, their eyes filled with complex emotions.
"Kingsoft has been developing WPS for ten years, from the DOS era to now. We've accumulated a lot of technology and cultivated a lot of talent. These ten years haven't been easy." Ling Yun looked at Qiu Bojun, who was standing by the stage, pursing his lips, his eyes a little red.
"Therefore, acquiring Kingsoft does not mean you have to abandon WPS and do something else. On the contrary, I want you to continue making WPS, and to make it even better, to make a world-class office software made by Chinese people."
He took a step forward.
"But what to do? Continue selling copies like before, a few hundred dollars a set, and engage in a price war with Microsoft? We've tried that path, and it doesn't work."
Someone in the audience whispered in agreement: "Yeah, they're not selling."
"So, we need to change our approach." Ling Yun held up a finger. "From today onwards, Kingsoft WPS's strategy will be completely changed."
He turned around and, using a whiteboard marker from beside the stage, wrote several large characters on the blank edge of the backdrop:
The product is free; value-added services are charged.
The audience erupted in uproar.
"Free? Then what are we going to eat?" someone blurted out.
"Let me finish." Ling Yun raised his hand, signaling for silence. "WPS's basic functions—word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations—are all free. Users can download and use them for free without any functional limitations. We distribute them through the Starry Night Games platform and also provide standalone installation packages."
He paused, watching everyone digest the information.
"The reason for offering it for free is to quickly acquire users and lower the barrier to entry. We want every student, every small business, and everyone who needs office software to be able to use a genuine and user-friendly version of WPS. We want to use the free model to gradually take away Microsoft Office's market share."
"Where does the revenue come from?" another voice asked from the audience; it was the marketing manager.
"Good question." Ling Yun wrote the second word on the whiteboard: Template Market
"Can't find a good template for your PPT? We provide it. Don't know the format for your report? We provide it. Need ready-made formulas and charts for your financial statements? We provide them." He explained, "We will build an online template marketplace. Designers and professionals can upload their own beautifully designed templates, sample documents, and formula libraries, which users can download for a fee. Kingsoft and the designers will share the revenue."
"How much can you make from this?" some people questioned.
"A template costs a few dollars, or even tens of dollars. But what if there are millions of users, and each person buys several templates a year?" Ling Yun said. "More importantly, this builds an ecosystem. It allows people with design skills and professional knowledge to make money through the WPS platform. And we provide the platform and take a cut."
murmurs began to ripple through the audience, with some nodding in agreement.
The third term: online file storage
"Right now, everyone uses floppy disks and hard drives to store files, and if they're lost, they're gone. In the future, we will provide cloud storage services. Your documents, spreadsheets, and PPTs can be stored on our servers, and you can open, edit, and share them anytime, anywhere, on any device, as long as you have internet access." Lingyun drew a cloud shape on the whiteboard. "Basic storage space is free, for example, 5GB per person. If you need more space, you can upgrade for a fee. Team collaboration space is also available for a fee."
"Is this...safe?" a senior engineer from the technical department asked.
"We will use the highest level of encryption technology, and the servers will be deployed within China to comply with Chinese laws," Ling Yun replied. "Moreover, cloud storage is not just about storage, but also the foundation of collaboration. Multiple people can edit a document simultaneously, see each other's changes in real time, and have version history automatically saved—all these functions will be implemented based on cloud services."
The fourth term: automated and intelligent generation
"Writing a year-end summary requires checking data, creating charts, and formatting—it takes hours!" Lingyun wrote "AI-assisted" on the whiteboard. "In the future, WPS will add intelligent features. You can tell it, 'Help me write a sales department third-quarter summary report,' and it will automatically pull data from your associated data sources, generate charts, organize the language, and format the report. You only need to modify and polish it."
A gasp of amazement erupted from the audience.
"Is this... possible?" someone asked.
"Technically, it will take time, but the direction is clear," Ling Yun said. "Artificial intelligence and big data analytics will become increasingly mature. What we need to do is plan ahead and apply these technologies to office scenarios to truly improve efficiency."
He put down his pen and faced the crowd.
"Therefore, Kingsoft's future is not about selling software copies, but about providing comprehensive solutions of 'software + services + ecosystem.' Free basic software attracts a massive number of users, value-added services (templates, cloud storage, intelligent functions) generate revenue, and an open template market and developer platform build the ecosystem."
He stepped off the stage, walked to the center of the banquet hall, and stood among the employees.
"What does this mean?" He looked around. "It means that for every colleague at Kingsoft, the value of your work is no longer just about writing code, testing bugs, and selling software. Your code will be used by millions or tens of millions of people; the templates you design may be downloaded by college students across the country; the cloud storage function you develop may protect all the important files of a small company; the intelligent generation algorithm you implement may save a busy manager several hours of time."
He paused, letting his words settle.
"This is a completely new path, a path no one has ever walked before. There will be difficulties, challenges, and doubts." He looked at Qiu Bojun, "President Qiu has led you all for ten years, persevering for ten years. Next, I hope everyone can persevere for another ten years and successfully navigate this path."