Covering Disruptive Technology Powering Business in The Digital Age

Written by: Syed Ahmad Hafez, Editor, AOPG.

MWC Shanghai 2023, the highly anticipated regional edition of the world’s largest mobile communications industry trade show, made a triumphant return as an in-person event after a two-year hiatus. The event proved to be a dynamic gathering of industry leaders, innovators, and technology enthusiasts.

The Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC) was abuzz with cutting-edge advancements in mobile technology and disruptive tech, all united under the theme of “Velocity”, as MWC Shanghai highlighted the significance of seizing the moment and leveraging the entire mobile ecosystem to fuel positive transformation in a rapidly evolving world.

Huawei, one of the tech giants that left a lasting impact, delivered a captivating keynote titled ” Building Innovation Momentum to Boost Digital and Intelligent Transformation.” Led by Richard Liu, President of Global Carrier Marketing & Solution Sales at Huawei, the session felt like an immersive journey into a digital future, vividly depicting a world on the brink of a seismic economic shift and serving as one of the standout moments of the keynote sessions.

The digital economy, according to Richard, is restructuring global resources, reshaping the very foundation of our economic edifice. “By 2025,” Richard cited Huawei’s projections, “this digital force won’t just knock at the door but kick it wide open—fuelling 55% of economic growth.” Picture this: a monstrous USD $23.6 trillion digital economy, accounting for a stunning 24.3% of global GDP. We’re not just experiencing a shift; we’re standing at the precipice of an economic revolution.

Dawn of the Digital Titans: An Economic Revolution

This sweeping digital transformation is not an isolated event but a universal opportunity, with spending on digital transformation projected to reach USD $3.4 trillion by 2026. As carriers act as digital transformation pioneers, they accumulate massive innovation potential, moving from providing simple voice services to delivering ubiquitous gigabit services for consumers and implementing intelligent interaction.

Richard firmly believes that carriers occupy a crucial position in facilitating the digital upgrade of various industries, ushering us into a new era of digital production. They are instrumental in enabling key production application scenarios like remote control, AGV, and PLC, effectively enhancing enterprise production efficiency. Moreover, carriers have undergone a significant transformation in their role for consumers, transitioning from offering basic voice services to providing ubiquitous gigabit services and implementing intelligent interaction.

These developments highlight their growing significance as indispensable partners propelling the rapid development of the digital economy. Carriers excel in providing essential components such as private lines, connections, computing resources, and highly reliable production networks, all of which are pivotal in expediting the digital transformation of enterprises.

The New Era of Digital Transformation: Three Essential Capabilities

During his enlightening discourse on the wave of digital intelligence, Richard emphasised the utmost importance of collaboration with carriers in order to establish three fundamental digital transformation capabilities.

The first of these capabilities, known as the infrastructure layer, involves the transformation of ICT collaboration into a flexible integration of strategic resources. Richard passionately expressed that “only by breaking through the critical capabilities of connection and computing can we have the autonomy to shape our future.” He further highlighted the significance of powerful connectivity capabilities – such as 5G, IPv6, and all-optical networks, as well as diversified computing power – which serve as crucial assets in carriers’ digital transformation endeavours.

The second essential layer, referred to as the operation layer, focuses on the conversion of massive data into the agile handling of complex scenarios. By transitioning from data aggregation to a combination of data aggregation and intelligence, carriers can unlock the greater value that data holds for their operations. This transformation enables carriers to navigate intricate situations with agility and responsiveness, thereby enhancing their operational efficiency and effectiveness.

Finally, the digital service layer empowers carriers to swiftly stimulate innovation by transforming their advantageous services into a platform for continuous creative exploration. Richard eloquently stated, “Through digital transformation, carriers can continually innovate and provide a growing array of innovative digital services, building upon their core advantageous services.” This strategic shift enables carriers to broaden their focus beyond consumers and home users, reaching out to both government and enterprise sectors as well as emerging customers. By nurturing a culture of innovation and leveraging their core competencies, carriers can actively contribute to the digital revolution and foster a thriving ecosystem of novel and impactful digital services.

Connectivity + Computing: The New Paradigm in Digital Infrastructure

“We believe that infrastructure will move from connectivity to connectivity + computing,” commented Richard as he delved into the topic of the evolving digital infrastructure foundations, specifically highlighting the shift from mere connectivity to a more holistic approach encompassing both connectivity and computing. He emphasised that this transformation is becoming increasingly evident through various indicators.

One of the key manifestations of this evolution is the transition from connections characterised by a 100 Mbit/s uplink, 1 Gbit/s downlink, and cloud-native capabilities to new connections that exhibit enhanced features such as a Gbit/s uplink, 10 Gbit/s downlink, and intrinsic intelligence. This upscaling of connection capabilities enables carriers to meet the rising demands of industry digitalisation and effectively handle the complexities arising from diverse scenarios.

As industry digitalisation gains momentum, there is a pressing need for improved computing capabilities. These enhanced computing capabilities, when combined with robust connectivity, give rise to new requirements such as cloud-network synergy, cloud-edge collaboration, and cloud-device synergy. The seamless integration of these elements within the infrastructure framework is a key aspect of digital transformation, allowing for greater flexibility and adaptability in addressing the evolving needs of the digital era.

Richard’s insights shed light on the dynamic nature of the digital infrastructure landscape and the imperative for carriers to embrace this transformational shift. By embracing the convergence of connectivity and computing, carriers can position themselves at the forefront of innovation, enabling them to effectively navigate the complexities of digitalisation and deliver advanced services that cater to the evolving requirements of industries and consumers alike.

An exemplary case he highlighted was the deployment of a smart coal mine in Northern China, where Huawei and the operator collaborated to utilise over 100 ultra-high-definition cameras for real-time video collection. Through the seamless integration of robust connections and advanced computing capabilities, the end-to-end service latency was successfully reduced to an impressive less than 20ms. This technological achievement not only ensured safer operations but also significantly enhanced the efficiency of the coal mine.

In this era of digital intelligence, Richard also emphasised that data processing is evolving towards intelligence. AI technologies are being injected into various office and production scenarios, enabling smart operations throughout the whole process and business, thereby doubling experience and efficiency and continuously innovating models.

This ongoing transformation is for the benefit of business services. Communication services are evolving from SIM card connections to a 5G era represented by high SLA and large uplink services. Carriers have a unique advantage in the digital service world, that is, SIM cards, which coupled with digital services make the user experience more secure.

5G brings a new calling experience, superimposing new content on new call capabilities to generate new applications and further enrich user experiences.

The Roadmap to Digitalisation: Grasping Changes and Trends

Drawing the keynote to a close, Richard stressed that while digital transformation paths may not be unique, their core lies in grasping changes and trends. The path to digitalisation involves flexible integration of digital infrastructure, the construction of agile, smart operations, and the rapid stimulation of innovative, prosperous digital services.

In retrospect, joint innovation in the industry has spurred the rapid development of the digital economy and accumulated massive innovation potential. As we face the coming wave of digital intelligence, Richard reiterated how Huawei is committed to promoting digital intelligence transformation and accelerating the conversion of innovation potential into the driving force of industry development.

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