Reshaping industries with AI

Huawei is focusing on Artificial Intelligence (AI) as the mainstay of its innovation strategy to develop AI-powered solutions for diverse industries as part of its effort to become the partner of choice for individual, corporate and government consumers across the globe.

As artificial intelligence gains prominence on the global stage, and its impact on different industries continues to grow, the Chinese tech giant said its ‘All Intelligence Strategy’ is designed to help all industries make the most of new strategic opportunities presented by AI. The group, which officially released its foundation model — Pangu — in August, iterated its intention to create an open ecosystem spanning the gamut from hardware, software, and services to cloud and edge computing.

While addressing the highly-anticipated technology extravaganza of the year — Huawei Connect 2023 in Shanghai, senior executives at the group said Huawei is interested in becoming ‘another option for the world’ to indicate that the company is focused on attaining global leadership in fast-growing technology sector.

Huawei deputy chairwoman, rotating chairwoman and chief financial officer Sabrina Meng presented the company’s new computing and communications strategy to accelerate the intelligent transformation of thousands of industries.

While unveiling the company's ‘All Intelligence Strategy’, she described the company's ongoing efforts to dive deep into foundational AI technologies and build a solid computing backbone for China – and another option for the world – to support a vast range of AI models and applications for all industries.

"Going forward, Huawei will dive into the product and tech domains where we excel, and work closely with customers, partners, developers, and other stakeholders to provide cutting-edge, easy-to-use industry solutions. By working together, we can help promote greater digital security and trustworthiness, and accelerate intelligence across all industries."

Zhang Ping'an, executive director of Huawei and CEO of Huawei Cloud, delivered the keynote speech and announced the company’s Pangu models for mining, government, vehicles, weather, medicine, virtual humans, and R&D, as well as the brand-new Huawei Cloud Ascend AI Cloud Service.

“This cloud service offers a variety of ready-to-call AI models to boost wider AI adoption. Huawei Cloud has built three AI compute centres in Gui'an, Ulanqab, and Wuhu. Enterprises have unlimited access to Ascend-powered AI compute.”

Huawei Cloud has sent PhDs, experts, and scientists to the field over the past several years to help enterprises operationalize the latest technologies in construction sites, mines, and manufacturing workshops, according to Ping'an

“So far, Huawei has helped more than 1,000 enterprises create real value from intelligent projects. This year, 200 PhDs are set to visit customer sites to bridge the gap between intelligent technology and industry needs, paving the way for customers to digital and intelligence.”

Accelerate Intelligence

David Wang, Huawei's executive director of the board, chairman of ICT Infrastructure Managing Board, and president of the Enterprise BG, delivered a keynote speech titled ‘Accelerate Intelligence’.

While emphasizing the unfolding of a new era in intelligent transformation, full of opportunities and challenges, he urged collaboration, deep exploration of industry-specific scenarios, and a solid computing infrastructure to support a variety of new AI models and applications in the journey to intelligence across industries.

“A new chapter of intelligent transformation is unfolding,” he said.

Wang announced the launch of Huawei’s new Atlas 900 SuperCluster and nine new intelligent industry solutions to meet the specific needs of different industries such as finance, government, manufacturing, electric power and railway.

"We now stand at the threshold of a new and intelligent world, with vast opportunities and challenges ahead of us. We need to work together, dig deep into industry-specific scenarios, and build a solid computing backbone to power countless new AI models and applications. Together, we can help all industries go intelligent, and help them do it faster," Wang said.

New Data Centres

Michael Ma, vice-president of Huawei and president of the ICT Product Portfolio Mgmt & Solutions Dept, launched the Data Centre 2030 report at the event. The report shares insights into the future of data centres, defines key features involved, and proposes a new reference architecture.

“The report describes five future scenarios that will affect data center development over the next decade, and proposes an innovative integration of energy, computing, transmission, data, and operation efficiency,” according to a Huawei statement.

Many prominent guests were invited to deliver speeches at the landmark technology conference. Joe Weinman, a digital strategist; He Baohong, director of the Cloud Computing and Big Data Research Institute of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT); and Hui Tao, director of Huawei ICT Strategy & Planning and Business Development Dept; all shared their ideas and practices with reference to the future of data centres.

Huawei looks forward to working with customers and partners around the world to promote the high-quality development of global data centre infrastructure and contribute to the intelligent transformation across industries.

What is Huawei Connect

Huawei Connect is an annual flagship event hosted by Huawei for the global ICT industry. It is a platform where the company discloses innovative solutions that it has been working on for the year.

This year’s three-day event, which was held under the banner of ‘Accelerate Intelligence’ in September, was the first physical Huawei Connect after the Covid-19 pandemic which severely hit China in 2020.

The game-changing technology conference recorded over 100 keynotes, summits, and sessions that delve deep into the ever-evolving realm of AI, networks, and cloud technologies.

The event attracted leading business leaders, tech experts, partners, developers, and industry stakeholders from around the world to explore new opportunities for an intelligent future.

Huawei collaborates UAE partners

As a leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices, Huawei has been operating in the UAE for more than 22 years.

In collaboration with the UAE’s public and private sector, the Chinese tech giant has been playing an important role in development of technological infrastructure in the country. Recently, it joined hands with du, from Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), to unveil the ground-breaking world’s first 5G Advanced (5G-A) demonstration Villa — an archetype for the future smart home living powered by a staggering10Gbps networks.

Li Peng, Huawei's Corporate Senior Vice President and President of the company's Carrier BG, said Huawei is excited to launch the 5G-A Powered Villa at the Home of the Future.

“Huawei will continually support du in its effort to build the best 5G networks, explore the commercial use of 5G-Advanced networks, while championing du’s leadership in this transformative era,” Peng said.

Both entities signed an MoU in March on 5.5G centred on 5G-A technological innovation, application exploration, and ecosystem development.

Huawei had established cooperation with a wide range of partners, including 11 universities in the UAE to establish the Huawei ICT Academy and hold programs such as “Seeds for the Future” and “Huawei ICT Competition.” Up until now, more than 5,000 Emirati students have participated in Huawei's on-site training programs.

“Our goal remains steadfast in serving as a reliable pillar to boost the UAE's digital economy's security. We are dedicated to collaborating with stakeholders to achieve this objective,” according to a Huawei spokesperson.

Huawei also hosted a glamorous event in Dubai recently to introduce a new line-up of smartwatches, freebuds, smart glasses and MatePad.

— muzaffarrizvi@khaleejtimes.com

• Business Technology Review