Kingsoft
| Type | Public (SEHK: 3888) |
|---|---|
| Genre | Software |
| Founded | 1989 |
| Headquarters | Beijing, China |
| Area served | East Asia |
| Key people | Pak Kwan Kau, Jun LEI (Lei Jun)[1] HongJiang ZHANG,[1] Tao ZOU[1] |
| Products | Kingsoft Office, Kingsoft PC Doctor,Kingsoft Internet Security 9 Plus, Power Word, Kingsoft KuaiPan, Kingsoft LieBao secure web browser. |
| Website | Kingsoft Homepage |
Kingsoft (Chinese: 金山软件; pinyin: jīnshān ruǎnjiàn; literally "Gold Mountain Software") is a Chinese software company.[2] Kingsoft has research and development centers in Zhuhai, Beijing, Chengdu and Dalian. The company has historically focused on development for the internet, Microsoft Windows-version systems and they created a web browser known as Liebao. The company has worked on security software products, most recently moving towards internet-based applications, such as Kingsoft Kuaipan (a free cloud storage application running on multiple platforms.)
History
Kingsoft was founded in 1988 by the JinShan company located in Hong Kong. JinShan is a manufacturer of IBM PCs and was founded in 1973. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Kingsoft researched and developed word processors and other office applications, such as its flagship product, Word Processing System 1.0, which launched in 1989, six years before the first version of Microsoft Office launched.[3] Today, the latest version of Kingsoft Office 2013 is a freeware office software, which includes Kingsoft Writer, Kingsoft Presentation and Kingsoft Spreadsheet. Kingsoft has established collaborative relationships with Dell, Intel and IBM.
Timeline
- 1988: Pak Kwan Kau[4] joins JinShan, participates in developing WPS (Word Processing System) and founded the sub-department of JinShan in Shen Zhen. This was the when JinShan initiated involvement in the software developing area.
- 1989: JanShan releases WPS 1.0 and PUC (JianShan I Chinese character card). JanShan I Chinese character card monopolized the printing market in China.
- 1993: Pak Kwan Kau founds Kingsoft at Zhu Hai with Zhang XuanLong's personal financial support.
- 1994: Beijing Kingsoft department is founded.
- 1996: SEASUN Studio was founded and released the first commercial game in China ZhongGuanCun Revelations.
- 1997: The RPG Jian Xia Qing Yuan is released and becomes the first RPG game in mainland China. PowerWord is released. WPS 97, running on Windows 95, is released.[5]
- 1998: Lenovo becomes a shareholder of Kingsoft. Kingsoft is reorganized.
- 2000: Kingsoft invests in and builds Amazon.com China [citation needed]. Kingsoft releases Kingsoft Antivirus.
- 2003: Beijing Kingsoft Entertainment Company is founded.
- 2007: Kingsoft makes the list of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
- 2008: WPS 2009, Kingsoft Antivirus 2009, and PowerWord 2009 are released.
- 2009: Beijing Kingsoft Security Company is founded.
- 2010: Kingsoft Antivirus becomes freeware.
- 2011: Pak Kwan KAU announces his retirement plan. The proposal for Jun LEI to become CEO is approved by the Board of Directors.
- 2011: Tencent becomes a 15.68% shareholder in Kingsoft, which is worth 892 million HKD. HongJiang ZHANG becomes the CEO of Kingsoft.
Products
- Kingsoft Office Professional 2013 & Kingsoft Office 2013 is an office suite of desktop applications including a word processor, spreadsheet and presentation programs. The latest version is Kingsoft Office 2013.
- Kingsoft Office for Android Freeware allows users to edit, view and save documents on Android devices. It also allow user to access Google Drive, Dropbox, Box.net and other online storage websites to deal with modified documents with WebDAV protocol.[6]
- Kingsoft Internet Security 9 Plus is an anti-virus and security application designed for Internet users. It contains anti-virus, anti-malware, a vulnerability scanner and personal firewall. It finds and fixes rootkit, spyware, trojan, virus and malware infections.
- Kingsoft PC Doctor is a freeware Windows system optimization software which offers a Windows Registry cleaner, uninstaller and speedup features.
- LieBao Secure web browser integrates Google Chrome kernel with high speed and Internet Explorer kernel with compatibility. LieBao aims to let users browse web pages more securely.[7]
- Kingsoft Power Word 2010 is a Chinese and English two-way machine translation application.
- Kingsoft KuaiPan is cloud storage software running on Windows, OS X, Android and iOS platforms.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Kingsoft Board of Directors http://ir.kingsoft.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=189890&p=irol-govBoard_pf
- ↑ The Inside Story Of China's High-Tech Industry: Making Silicon Valley in Beijing, Pg 113, Yu Zhou 2008
- ↑ Kingsoft WPS Software Reaches Record, Pg4,
Kingsoft WPS Software Reaches Record, 23 August 2012 - ↑ Biographical Dictionary of New Chinese Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders, Pg. 140-141 Ilan Alon and Wenxian Zhang. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2009. Google Book Search
- ↑ Kingsoft website Kingsoft Office History, http://www.kingsoftstore.com/company/2798-history
- ↑ Kingsoft official website, http://www.kingsoftstore.com/software/office-for-android
- ↑ Kingsoft Network Tech Launches LieBao Browser, MSP Today Industry News June 26, 2012
External links
- Official website of Kingsoft
- Kingsoft office official website (English)
- Kingsoft office official website (German)
- Kingsoft office official website (Italian)
- Kingsoft office official website (French)
- Kingsoft security official website (English)