Techitup ME in conversation with Alan Qi, President of Huawei Cloud ME&CA, sharing insights on how Huawei Cloud is differentiating & innovating in the region, leveraging AI for industry use cases and enabling digital transformation for industries
How is Huawei Cloud differentiating in the competitive cloud services market in the Middle East region?
First of all, I really appreciate the opportunity to speak with you. Huawei Cloud is relatively new, but Huawei itself is not new in this region as we have been operating here for over 26 years. We started with our telecom business, then expanded into consumer business, government, and enterprise sectors. Over the years, we realized that as an ICT company, we can’t just focus on connectivity; it’s also important to focus on computing, AI, and cloud technology. That’s why we established the Cloud Business Group, along with the Digital Power Group, which focuses on green energy and digital solutions.
The Middle East region is especially important to us. Based on our brand and the trust we’ve built over the years, we believe this is the right time to invest heavily in cloud services here. Although we started later compared to other cloud service providers, we see significant potential in this market and our services are being trusted by top and reputed companies and even the governments across Middle East. The demand for cloud technology is increasing across various sectors, and the region is very keen on adopting the latest technologies, especially AI.
You mentioned the strong foundation and trust that Huawei has built in the region. Could you elaborate on the differentiators Huawei Cloud offers?
Yes, our foundation is built on trust, which we’ve earned through over 26 years of operations in the region. This trust is further reinforced by our strong sales and customer support teams. Additionally, our strategy emphasizes that the future of any organization, including Huawei itself, is heavily tied to cloud technology. All of our services run on our own cloud, and we use our AI technologies and ERP systems to maximize our innovation.
When it comes to technology, we have a robust ICT foundation that guarantees top performance, security, and resilience for our cloud services. For example, when we launched our Riyadh region, we tested the latency with all telecom operators, and the results were impressive—less than 50 milliseconds, which is even better than some other service providers. Huawei’s expertise in connectivity, switching technologies, and storage further strengthens our cloud offerings.
Can you talk more about the role of innovation in Huawei’s cloud services?
Absolutely. Innovation is a key differentiator for Huawei Cloud. We draw from our extensive experience in China, where we are the number one cloud provider for government, financial sectors, utilities, and large enterprises. This gives us deep insights into industry-specific needs, which we use to offer tailored solutions. We also have powerful AI capabilities, like large language models, computer vision, and predictive analytics. Our AI for Industry slogan highlights our focus on supporting businesses rather than just consumers.
We also have innovative products such as GaussDB, which supports various types of databases. It can be compared to services from Oracle, AWS, and Azure. Additionally, our Big Data platform offers advanced solutions for data warehousing and management. We also have specialized solutions for sectors like media and entertainment, autonomous driving, and digital avatars.
How do you integrate AI into your services and what benefits does it bring to your customers?
Yes, AI plays a central role in our services. We’ve integrated AI across all our platforms to enhance service efficiency and innovation. For example, in network management, we use AI to optimize performance and predict potential issues. We also have AI capabilities in consumer devices, such as smartphones, to improve user experience. Internally, our AI system automatically generates summaries of meetings and chat histories, which streamlines communication and boosts productivity.
For industries, we provide AI-enabled solutions like real-time translation and intelligent traffic management. In specific industries, such as the railway sector, we use computer vision to monitor train health by analyzing thousands of images, significantly reducing the need for human inspection.
Can you explain how Huawei’s Pangu model contributes to these AI and cloud advancements?
The Pangu model is a comprehensive framework that includes various AI models like language models, computer vision (CV), and AI for scientific applications. For example, our language model supports several languages, including Arabic, Chinese, Russian, and English, and is designed specifically for industry use. It’s not a generic consumer solution; it’s tailored to the needs of governments and enterprises. We customize the models based on each customer’s data to ensure they meet specific industry needs, like language localization for the Middle East or AI for predictive maintenance in industries like mining.
We also have use cases in industries like meteorology, where our Pangu model helps forecast weather patterns and predict natural disasters. For example, our model has been used for earthquake prediction and hurricane tracking, saving lives and resources. Another key use case is in pharmaceuticals, where our AI models assist drug manufacturers in predicting and developing vaccines for emerging diseases.
How does Huawei’s AI-enabled cloud help drive the digital transformation in different sectors?
Our AI-enabled solutions are designed to help industries become more efficient and innovative. We focus on providing end-to-end solutions that not only optimize operations but also address unique challenges within different sectors. For example, our AI in the railway industry helps monitor train and track health, while our AI-driven services in healthcare assist in drug development and epidemic prediction. We’re also seeing growing interest in AI-powered customer service solutions, like AI assistants in government services, which are already being implemented in some parts of the region.
Huawei’s focus is to provide the infrastructure and AI tools that support these sectors in their digital transformation journey. Whether it’s a public sector client in need of localized language models or an industrial client looking to automate processes, we have the expertise and technology to deliver.
