'Huawei Connect' Returns Offline After 3 Years... Targeting Digital Transformation

10,000 ICT Experts Gather in Bangkok, Thailand
Telecom Industry Shrinks Due to US Sanctions... Targeting Cloud and Data Centers for Businesses

On-site at 'Huawei Connect 2022' held by Huawei in Bangkok, Thailand from the 19th to the 21st (local time). Photo by Huawei

[Bangkok (Thailand) = Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] Huawei has embarked on finding new growth opportunities by targeting digital transformation demands such as cloud and data centers at the 'Huawei Connect 2022' event, which returned offline after three years.

The 'Huawei Connect 2022' event held in Bangkok, Thailand on the 21st concluded its three-day journey. With about 10,000 ICT experts and partners from around the world gathered, the event sought ways to strengthen cooperation with Asia-Pacific countries and revitalize the digital economy ecosystem.

Leap Forward with Cloud and Data Centers

At this event, the transformation of Huawei, which had focused on telecommunications equipment and smartphones as its core businesses, was clearly felt. After the U.S.'s stringent sanctions, Huawei is seeking new paths in cloud and data centers. Last year, it invested 142.7 billion yuan (about 28 trillion KRW) and in 2020, 141.9 billion yuan (about 23 trillion KRW) in research and development (R&D), investing 10-15% of its annual revenue each year.

Huawei's efforts for a new leap were also visible at the event site. Ken Hu, Huawei's rotating chairman, pointed out bottlenecks occurring in the digital transformation process of governments and enterprises in his opening keynote speech and presented cloud as one of the solutions. Hu said, "There is no doubt that the cloud is the future. It is expected that by 2025, 95% of all new digital workloads will be deployed directly on the cloud," and emphasized, "Huawei will support enterprises not only to use the cloud but to maximize its utilization for a leap forward."

Plans to expand the cloud business were also revealed. Under the slogan 'To the World with Cloud,' Huawei is building an ecosystem with partners. It plans to establish new cloud regions in Indonesia and Ireland within the year and activate services in over 170 countries and regions. While Amazon Web Services (AWS) holds an overwhelming 38.9% share of the global cloud market, Huawei (4.6%) has strengthened its position by ranking within the top five.

Another core new business pillar is data centers. As global demand for data centers surges, Huawei is targeting the market with full-stack data centers that significantly reduce construction time and improve energy efficiency through modular construction. The block-stacking assembly method halves the construction period. Bob Chen, Vice President of Huawei Enterprise Business Group, said, "Data is the core of digital transformation, and data collection, transmission, storage, and analysis are very important stages," adding, "Huawei accelerates corporate digital innovation by providing a full-stack product portfolio for end-to-end data processing."

Huawei's efforts to expand these new businesses are showing results. Although sales declined due to stringent sanctions, the new business sectors are growing smoothly. Ryan Ding, President of Huawei Enterprise Business Group, said, "Huawei's innovation is recognized in many industries," and added, "In the first half of this year, Huawei Enterprise Business revenue increased by 27.6% to $8.17 billion (about 11.3547 trillion KRW)."

Ken Hu, Rotating Chairman of Huawei, is delivering the keynote speech at 'Huawei Connect 2022'. Photo by Huawei

Strengthening Asia-Pacific Cooperation... Generous $300 Million Investment

Huawei is strengthening cooperation with countries by nurturing talent in the Asia-Pacific region. It aims to quickly establish a foothold and discover demand in the growing Asia-Pacific market. The plan is to increase digital talent in the Asia-Pacific region to 500,000 by 2026.

At this event, the 'Asia-Pacific Digital Talent Summit' was held, bringing together government officials from Asia-Pacific countries to unite their will for digital talent development. Simon Lin, President of Huawei Asia-Pacific, said at the summit, "Huawei, as a global company rooted in local markets, will continuously strengthen the talent ecosystem through leadership, technology, and knowledge."

To strengthen cooperation with partners, Huawei supports consulting, solution development, and more through the 'Huawei Empower Program.' Additionally, it plans to invest $300 million (about 416.9 billion KRW) over the next three years to build a talent pool with global partners.

Meanwhile, the event, which started in Bangkok, Thailand, where the Asia-Pacific regional headquarters is located, is also scheduled to be held in Dubai, UAE, and Paris, France. It will conclude in Shenzhen, China, where the headquarters is located, in November.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.