FOR Tim Griffin, the world is one big workplace. One day he might find himself at home in Singapore, only to wake up in a different country the next. After all, he is the Vice President for Global Services and Solutions, Consumer Small and Medium Business Services for the international computer manufacturer Dell.

Griffin recently flew to Manila to formally announce their newest president for Philippine operations. He also briefed reporters on Dell’s 11 company acquisitions in the past two years, as part of its strategy to transform Dell into more than just a manufacturer of laptops, desktops and servers.

Exciting times indeed for one of the world’s most recognized computer brands, based in Round Rock Texas. Founded by Michael Dell, the company started out as one that develops, sells and supports computers and related products and services. AT present, it is still one of the largest technological corporations in the world employing more than 100,000 people worldwide.

In 2009, Dell embarked on a mission to transform and expand its company even more. It started aggressively, acquiring companies in its bid to boost its storage and services business. According to Griffin, this is all part of their strategy to transform the company as a hardware provider to a solutions company that seeks to address the end-to-end services of its customers. Some of its notable acquisitions included Perot Systems, Boomi, SecureWorks, Compellent and EqualLogic. Griffin notes that these acquisitions have been made specifically around IT intellectual property that enables its transition into solutions. Since then, Dell is into the selling of personal computers, servers, data storage devices, network switches, software and computer peripherals and even cellphones and tablets. Additionally, because of the acquisition of Perot Systems, the company says that it is now the No. 1 healthcare services provider in the US market.

Despite the challenging US economy and amid a credit rating downgrade by Standard & Poor’s on the United States recently, Griffin said that Dell as a company would not change its present course and would continue to grow outside the US. He was most excited not only for the so-called high growth “BRIC” (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries, but for the rest of Asia, including the Philippines as well.

In particular, Griffin said that their CSMB Customer Services here, which is responsible for providing both technical and non-technical support to its customers in the US, is almost at capacity in its location at present and that they intend to make it grow more each year. At present, Dell operates a 1600-seat capacity in Manila that services the US and other countries and Dell Philippines is looking at new spaces to accommodate its planned increase of about 300 seats to 500 seats every year in the short term.

Griffin said that the secret to customer satisfaction in their services could be attributed to their simple strategy, which is to “serve, solve and sell.” He explained that this solution offers complete customer satisfaction because it covers all grounds and even allows the company to sell its other related products and services while addressing specific customer needs at the same time.

His task is to oversee these operations as they are run simultaneously from one country to another. To many, it may sound like a tough job, but for Griffin it’s just all in a day’s work. He also explained that Singapore is their hub to support all services and solutions globally for “our consumer SMB business and I think that’s an important message with Asia being a hub for Dell.” He described his workload as being on the road for about two weeks or so every month traveling to about 20 countries around the world, and one which he said he very much enjoys doing. “One of the things I love about my job is the opportunity and the rich environment that I work in.”

Surprisingly, despite the seemingly hectic workload including having to travel frequently, Griffin said that he still manages to find ample time with his family. He told us that he even takes his son to school back in Singapore where his family is based, and is acting coach to his son’s rugby team. According to him, it’s all about effective planning and organizing of his time. At the end of the day, he said that he sees himself as no different from other people who manage to juggle and strike a balance between career and family. What’s important it seems to this successful corporate executive is that there should be equal passion in both work and family. That way, he is able to enjoy the best of both worlds. It also reflects his company’s slogan of having the power to do more.