The industry began to talk about embracing digital transformation in 2015, and started to act in 2016. This year, we are working together with our stakeholder to accelerate towards digital business success.
Digital transformation is now a common business goal. In the past few years, we used to talk about the direction and architecture of digital transformation. This year, our focus has evolved to digital business and services. This is a very encouraging change.
Leveraging strengths, digitalized with enterprise IT and connectivity, video, and IoT
According to a survey by Huawei and IDC, 72% of carriers believe that digitization is a mid- to long-term process that will take three to six years to complete. More than half plan to provide more products and services to consumers and enterprises in the future. In addition to traditional voice and data services, enterprise IT and connectivity, video, and IoT are the most important new business opportunities for carriers over the next one to two years.
Enterprise IT and connectivity services, video services, and IoT services allow operators to give full play to their network advantages and are also well combined with digital technologies, which will boost operators’ business growth. First, communications networks are operators’ core assets. They help operators build three major strengths: wide coverage, massive connections, and centralized operations.
Second, operators can use digital technologies to slice networks. One physical network can deliver differentiated network capabilities, to adapt to various use cases. Third, operators can combine their network strengths with digital technologies to redefine business, experience, and connectivity.
Redefining business, experience, and connectivity, transforming towards digital business
Redefining business
In the field of private lines, operators can fully leverage the strengths of cloud and network synergy, to deliver one-stop, on-demand network services for their enterprise customers. For example, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) generates the world’s fourth-largest datasets through the operation of the Large Hadron Collider every year. In 2016, it generated about 50PB data. By using its leading bandwidth resources in Europe, combing the digital technologies of high-performance computing, Deutsche Telekom ensures 10Gbps private line bandwidth for CERN, with more than 20TB of data transferred every day. Data is then safely and rapidly sent to the public cloud jointly operated by Huawei and DT. With private lines, DT delivers dynamically scalable high-performance computing and storage services to its customer.
China Telecom provides the synergy service of agile private lines and the e-Cloud (the cloud brand of China Telecom) to hospitals, using Huawei’s SDN-based on-demand network solution. During the day, hospitals use the average bandwidth to ensure the daily medical data upload, while at night, bandwidth can be flexibly scaled out, In this way, hospitals can complete cloud synchronization of mass gene sequencing data. For hospitals, this solution assures their service efficiency, while reducing costs. For operators, it makes full use of the night’s idle bandwidth and increases bandwidth utilization.
Redefining experience
In the field of video, when facing requests for an inspired 4K HD video experience, operators will need to build high-bandwidth, low-latency networks in valuable areas. This can help operators improve users’ experience and shorten the payback periods. For example, we helped Telkom Indonesia analyze video experience by using U-vMOS. We found that only when the index exceeded 3.5 did the service meet users’ experience requirements.
In addition, we found that network bandwidth should be more than 50MB, the packet loss rate lower than 1 per 100,000, and the latency less than 35 milliseconds. We also analyzed other factors such as location, resource consumption, user behavior, and competition. The results of this analysis helped us make Telkom Indonesia’s network planning model more targeted. Telkom Indonesia gained insight into high-value areas to enable profitable, precise network rollout. This has helped the company build unique strengths in video. In 2017, its U-vMOS index rose from 2.5 to 3.7, and its IPTV revenue increased by 39% year-on-year.
Redefining connectivity
In the field of IoT, Huawei has released Things Coverage, a network planning methodology for IoT. By assessing NB-IoT network performance from various aspects, it provides assurance for the battery life of modules and enhances connectivity reliability. China Telecom’s project for Shenzhen Water Group is a good example. We input information about location, networks, and devices into the system, and it will automatically simulate the assessment of key indicators such as device battery life, downlink path loss, RSRP, and SINR. The methodology has enabled network optimization and the deployment and maintenance of water meters. As a result, the meter reading success rate is over 99.6% and battery life is over 7 years, meeting the specifications of Shenzhen Water Group for smart metering. By the end of 2017, the company will have deployed 100,000 water meters, covering the Shenzhen districts of Yantian, Longhua, and Futian District. Water applications and data storage will also be gradually migrated to the e-Cloud.
Investing US $1b to accelerate digital transformation
In the next three years, Huawei will invest $1b in digital transformation solutions. We will continue to build solution-oriented business and technical capabilities, solution development processes, and digital business enabler platforms, and realize the implementation and closed-loop from strategy and execution. At the same time, we are working with operators such as HKT on digital practices and joint innovation. We are developing a systematic methodology involving customers’ business vision, business goals, blueprint design, and solution customization. We will continue to refine the methodology, to better deliver solutions of value.
Huawei will also build a multi-layer ecosystem that includes business and enabler platforms and infrastructure to align with industry development trends and contribute to industry growth and business success. In the business domain, Huawei focuses on the incubation of business services and applications. In collaboration with our partners, we have incubated over 200 industry solutions. In the platform area, Huawei works on open architecture and industry standards. We are now one of the top contributors in multiple open-source communities and industry alliances. As for infrastructure, Huawei practices multi-vendor integration and evolution at more than 20 Open Labs we have established around the world. Huawei wishes to become the most trusted partner of customers.
In the end, we believe that digital transformation actions speak louder than words. Huawei wishes to work with partners to accelerate digitization. Together with our partners and customers, we will embrace a new era of digital business.
