Alibaba Cloud, the digital technology powerhouse 💻 of Alibaba Group, recently kicked off a series of exciting events to commemorate its 🥳 10th anniversary serving businesses in Hong Kong. As the company celebrates this remarkable milestone, it reaffirms its commitment to strengthening Hong Kong’s tech ecosystem and fortifying its AI capabilities. 🧠
Fostering an Innovative Ecosystem 🌱
In a bold move to solidify Hong Kong’s position as a regional tech and innovation hub, Alibaba Cloud has announced plans to launch an Independent Software Vendor (ISV) empowerment program in 2024. 📢 The program aims to attract 💯 technology partners and nurture an ecosystem that will sustain Hong Kong’s digital transformation journey. 💡
Over the past decade, Alibaba Cloud has invested a staggering HK$10 billion 💰 in its development in Hong Kong, establishing multiple data centers, expanding its service offerings, and cultivating local tech talent. The company’s unwavering dedication has paid off, with over 40,000 businesses in Hong Kong leveraging its services to drive their digital transformation efforts. 🌐
Celebrating a Remarkable Journey 🎊
Leo Liu, Vice President of International Business, General Manager of North APAC Region, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence, reflected on the company’s remarkable journey:
“In the past decade, bolstered by the growing demand for cloud computing across sectors, Alibaba Cloud has achieved encouraging growth. This would not have been possible without the support of our customers, partners, and our team. We remain committed to the future development of Hong Kong. We will continue to leverage the power of generative AI to support a broader range of businesses in achieving faster and more cost-effective expansion in Hong Kong and beyond.”
Enhancing Hong Kong’s Role as a Super-Connector 🌐
Benefiting from Hong Kong’s strategic role as a “super-connector,” Alibaba Cloud has played a pivotal part in assisting customers from mainland China with their global expansion over the past decade. As Hong Kong accelerates its integration into the national development plan, more and more businesses are eyeing opportunities in the Greater Bay Area, Asia, and beyond. 🌍
In 2021, Alibaba Cloud expanded its Hong Kong and Macao Eco Alliance to become the Greater Bay Area Eco Alliance, helping Hong Kong businesses transform, innovate, and grow regionally. Currently, Alibaba Cloud’s ecosystem actively collaborates with over 300 partners in Hong Kong, spanning diverse areas such as consulting, service delivery, technology development, and reselling. 🤝
Harnessing the Power of AI 🤖
In response to the latest trend of AI deployment and development, Hong Kong customers can leverage Alibaba Cloud’s cutting-edge AI offerings to boost their own AI adoption and unlock new levels of productivity. 📈
Platform for AI (PAI) 🔬
- Elastic Algorithm Service (EAS): Designed to offer a cost-efficient solution for model deployment and inference, EAS allows users to tap into computing resources as needed, eliminating the need to oversee the management and upkeep of physical or virtual servers. 💰
- Lingjun Intelligent Computing Service: A comprehensive AI computing platform for high-performance computing tasks, such as foundation model training and inference, recently made available for customers outside Chinese mainland. 🌍
Additionally, a series of open-source versions of Alibaba Cloud’s proprietary foundation model Qwen are accessible to Hong Kong customers, enabling them to power their applications with advanced AI capabilities. 🚀
Hong Kong businesses can also leverage Alibaba Cloud’s solutions to build generative AI scenarios ranging from smart chatbots, enterprise information search and generation, digital analytics, and decision-making support. 💡
Supporting Customers’ Digital Transformation and Regional Growth 🌐
Lane Crawford: Luxury Fashion Meets Digital Excellence 👠
Lane Crawford, a prestigious luxury fashion, beauty, and lifestyle department store, has been leveraging Alibaba Cloud’s comprehensive solutions to optimize operations and extend its reach into mainland China. 🇨🇳
Since 2018, Lane Crawford’s digital business has been running entirely on Alibaba Cloud. The company’s digital stores, including its e-commerce website and WeChat e-shop, have been migrated from physical data centers to Alibaba Cloud, resulting in significant cost savings for operational and maintenance expenses. 💸
Embracing cloud-native technology has profoundly enhanced the agility and resilience of Lane Crawford’s systems, particularly during promotional campaigns when the digital stores experience drastic increases in traffic. Lane Crawford has also embraced Alibaba Cloud’s security solutions and expert compliance consultation services to ensure adherence to the highest standards of local compliance and regulatory requirements. 🔒
Jack Ng, Director of Technology at Lane Crawford, shared:
“We have seen a shift in Chinese consumers’ shopping habits, with a notable rise in online shopping, particularly through social media platforms. This transition has enabled us to provide our customers with a more seamless and reliable online shopping experience. Furthermore, our partnership with Alibaba Cloud has assisted us in compliance with IT infrastructure regulations in mainland China and helped increase our digital reach.”
Holistic Technology: Empowering SMEs with Retail Solutions 🛍️
Located at the Hong Kong Science Park, Holistic Technology is a retail solution development company offering innovative and effective online business management systems to SMEs. The company leverages Alibaba Cloud’s global infrastructure to support its business expansion. 🌐
Holistic Technology was “born on the cloud,” having used cloud technology to develop its flagship product SoldEazy, a multichannel product listing system, as well as an order management system, a data analysis system, and a logistics management system for merchants from Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area to build, operate, and manage their cross-border e-commerce business activities.
As the business expanded into markets such as the UK, Japan, Southeast Asia, and North America, Holistic Technology leveraged Alibaba Cloud’s global infrastructure to ensure seamless cross-regional operations. Furthermore, the company adopted Alibaba Cloud’s Object Storage Service (OSS) and Content Delivery Network (CDN) to optimize image processing, a commonly-used e-commerce scenario, enhancing customer experience. 📸
Jack Zhang, Chief Engineer of Holistic Technology, said:
“As a ‘cloud-native’ company, Holistic Technology has benefited from the security, stability, and cost-effectiveness brought by the public cloud. During the nearly 10 years of collaboration, Alibaba Cloud’s global infrastructure and stable services provide a foundation for our cross-region business development. We look forward to continuing to work with Alibaba Cloud to achieve breakthroughs and innovation in the future.”
Developing Local Talent and Contributing to the Community 🌱
As Alibaba Cloud continues to expand, it remains dedicated to strengthening Hong Kong’s tech and innovation ecosystem through its contribution to talent development. Since 2017, Alibaba Cloud has provided training to over 88,000 individuals through a blend of online and offline training programs and has issued more than 162,000 certifications. 🎓
Alibaba Cloud has partnered with eight universities in Hong Kong, including HKU Business School, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and City University of Hong Kong, to roll out cloud computing training initiatives. Additionally, it has collaborated with HKU SPACE and the SEED Foundation to introduce a cloud computing curriculum specifically designed for secondary school students in Hong Kong, benefiting over 20 schools and enhancing the digital skills of the younger generation. 👩💻
Building on this momentum, Alibaba Cloud is collaborating with local training institutions like Kornerstone to bring together people of all ages, professions, and walks of life to discover the power of cloud computing and the latest technological advancements. 🔭
Alibaba Cloud is also assisting NGOs in Hong Kong to embrace digital transformation. The company has supported Heep Hong Society, an organization offering professional support to SEN (Special Educational Needs) students, and Young Women’s Christian Association of Hong Kong, in upgrading their online fundraising platforms to enhance efficiency. Additionally, the Hong Kong Council of Social Service is working with Alibaba Cloud to build a dedicated platform to assist local NGOs in addressing challenges faced in the digital era. 💻
With its unwavering commitment to innovation, Alibaba Cloud continues to chart new frontiers in Hong Kong, empowering businesses, fostering talent, and contributing to the growth of the local community. 🌇
