You know that CPU in your HUAWEI smartphones that you are so used to? Yes, the HUAWEI branded processing chip that has been a staple in HUAWEI’s flagships and other smartphones. Yes, HiSilicon, as the title named. No, they are still HUAWEI’s subsidiary.
From 2020 onward though you might not just see HUAWEI devices fitting in chips from their in-house chip maker. They are starting to sell their chip technologies and processing chips to other manufacturers, expanding their business opportunities.
It does make a lot of sense this move of opening themselves up to the bigger market. HiSilicon makes some of the world’s cleverest and powerful processing chips to be put in a smartphone. The HiSilicon Kirin 990 for example, is proven to be one of the most powerful System on a Chip (SoC) to be found on a smartphone. So it is not like they make subpar products, they do make some compelling stuff. It is just that we have never seen anyone other than HUAWEI using the chips due to HUAWEI’s agreement with their subsidiary.
These years where Shanghai HiSilicon operates exclusively for HUAWEI too sees the Chinese telecommunication giant benefit from the clever chip designs of the chip manufacturer. The Kirin SoC series is partly responsible for HUAWEI’s successful P series and Mate series line-ups thanks to the clever dedicated Neural Processing Unit (mostly known as an AI chip) integration, first in the world in the HiSilicon Kirin 970.
The expansion does not just cover smartphone SoC sales though. The expansion also extends to Shenzhen HiSilicon expanding their manufacturing scope to more than just smartphone chips. They will be responsible for making processing chips for things like smart TVs, set-top boxes, and other smart home electronics that needs a processing chip.
It would come as no surprise is the first thing that comes to your mind when your hear “Amazon” is the popular online marketplace or the largest rain forest in the world. What if we told you that there is another Amazon that you should know of – Amazon Web Services (AWS). Yes. This Amazon is related Amazon.com but their reach is far, far greater than just an online marketplace. AWS is a subsidiary of Amazon.com which powers most of the internet. Yep. You read that right! AWS provides the backbone for a majority of the world’s websites, apps and services. They provide a slew of cloud computing infrastructure services which allow many websites, apps and businesses to scale and accommodate sudden spikes in their usage as well as the backbone for cloud based compute services.
Now that you have a general idea of who they are. We’re pretty sure that you’re wondering why you should be paying attention to this company. From what we’ve outlined, it seems like AWS is a very corporate service. So why would the regular joe need to know about it? Here’s three of the compelling reasons you should.
1. Nearly Half of the world’s Cloud Computing Services and Platforms Run AWS
AWS is one of the most omnipresent service providers in the world. Apps, websites, banks and more are using AWS to drive digitalization of their businesses. In fact, in his keynote, Andy Jassy, CEO of AWS, shared that about 47.8% of all services using cloud computing run on the platform. This number puts them far ahead of their nearest competition, Microsoft Azure (15.5%) and Alibaba Cloud (7.7%).
This also
means the company’s platform and services are being adopted at a rate much
higher than its competition. The AWS platform has an edge over its competition
thanks to the extensive services and granularity of the customisation that the
service offers.
2. More Companies are adopting Cloud Computing to
better serve customers
We’ve
talked about Industry 4.0 a whole lot over the past year and the truth is,
we’re only at the cusp of it. In the next few years, we will be seeing more and
more companies adopt cloud computing as one of their main tools to serve their
customers. You may not see this being announced publicly, but nearly all the
services that you use from Agoda to Facebook have a cloud computing component
to it; whether it’s to hyper personalise their offerings or to have
redundancies that will help with making things more seamlessly. With this
increased adoption, it may be time to know a little more about how these
services are provided.
3. AWS has one of the most complete Cloud Computing
services
Amazon Web Services is one of the most complete cloud computing platforms available now. In fact, the company is ahead of the curve when it comes to providing the latest and greatest in cloud computing. AWS currently has over 165 modules or services which it offers its customers. Each of these services can be selectively deployed to meet their customers’ unique needs. With their recent announcement at their annual Re:invent conference, the number of services offered by AWS has grown further.
Very briefly, the company’s offerings span everything from storage, machine learning, artificial intelligence and data processing. The company has announced even more services with a strong focus on allowing its customers to adopt edge computing and better manage and process their data which is being stored in the cloud and even on premises with their new AWS Outpost.
With the companies adoption across the internet becoming more and more popular, AWS is set to become one of the largest cloud computing providers in the world. They’ve even made it into things like the Formula 1 (F1) and National Football League (NFL). You may even see them helping your self driving vehicles in the near future. With that in mind, prepare to find out more about AWS and how they are changing the state of the internet.
The
world is abuzz with a massive change in the way things are working when it
comes to companies. This change is spurred by the introduction of many
technologies which have revolutionised and fundamentally changed how things are
done. Perhaps the biggest observable change so far is that start ups have
become the new normal. The simple reason behind this is that there has been a
fundamental change in paradigm when it comes to product development and the
duration is takes for an industry-wide disruption to occur. What once took
decades is now happening at a near daily pace. The reality of the nature of
disruption today is that you don’t have to be a large corporation to disrupt
nor do you have to be a digital native. You simply have to be able to impact
the way things are done and fundamentally change a preset mindset.
Being
Digital Simply Means Adopting A New Mindset
Looking back at disruptors such as Grab or Uber, this statement couldn’t be more true. Even in our sit down with Mr Santanu Dutt, Chieft Technology Officer and Head of Technology (ASEAN) at Amazon Web Services, this point was stressed upon. The world has changed from an industry-first paradigm to one where customers are placed front and center. Development starts with the identification of a gap in services or a new way of offering the service which would cater to better customer experience. From there, companies need to address the constantly changing demands of the customer with quick iterations. The harsh reality is, when it comes to competing in Industry 4.0, companies are now vying for a very limited commodity: customer attention. The days in which customers have a sense of loyalty are quickly fading. Instead, they look to new experiences and features which make their life easier.
So the big question is: How can companies have a competitive edge in this marketplace? As Mr Santanu put it, “Being digital is also largely a cultural change. Yes, it is about technology but [also] a cultural change of a company to have their product and services digitally [and] expand their reach.”. He stresses that the fundamental cultural change is for companies and their employees to understand the needs of their customer, listen to their feedback and to iterate quickly to address them. In fact, in recent years, we’ve seen companies die because of this. One of the best examples of this on a international scale is Blockbuster and other video rental services. With the advent of fast, broadband internet, their customers started expecting videos and movies to be immediately available for on demand viewing. The only company to capitalise on this fundamental change was Netflix. Netflix changed from an overnight DVD and Blu-ray courier and rental service into a platform which allowed users to stream video on demand. This was, of course, followed closely by Amazon Prime Video and other companies. Another example is that of Grab which started off as an app to making hailing a taxi easier and safer. It is today, Southeast Asia’s largest ride-hailing application and e-Wallet.
Learning and Unlearning to Compete in Industry 4.0
There
is a misconception that comes with companies going digital and that’s the
assumption that going digital simply means that companies need to adopt new
technologies to streamline processes. Truth be told, going digital entails more
than just adopting new technologies; it involves the learning of new approaches
and technologies and the unlearning of old approaches which are holding the
company back. However, in adopting new technologies such as Amazon Web Services
(AWS) cloud based services, companies cannot simply be looking at a “lift and
shift” approach where they simply take their pre-existing architecture and
shift it to platforms such as AWS. Instead, SMEs need to look at learning new
the technology and implementing them in such a way that they are maximising
their potential. In essence, unlearning the old and optimising essential
processes and architecture using new technologies such as Machine Learning (ML)
and Data Lakes.
To
be agile and effective, SMEs must look to the most effective approach to their
needs. Certain industries may not permit the complete migration of on premises
infrastructure to one that is purely cloud based. In cases such as these, Mr
Santanu says that there is no harm in keeping core services on premise with
permitted peripheral services being moved to the cloud. This approach allows
SMEs to benefit from an agile workflow whilst keeping inline with regulations.
When it comes to regulated industries, certification is essential. This is why
SMEs looking to take advantage of Industry 4.0 should look to partners who
share the burden of getting industry certifications. Companies such as AWS
share this burden with their clients and ensure that any certification
necessary for relevant industries is met on a regular basis.
With
these worries aside, SMEs can focus on learning new approaches such as
implementing DevOps in a leaner, more efficient manner. This will, over time,
lead to better processes which allow for greater profits while minimizing cost.
With partners such as AWS, SMEs can focus on servicing their clients while
leaving infrastructure maintenance to their partner.
Planning For Scale from the Beginning
To
keep up with the demands of the rapidly changing landscape in Industry 4.0,
companies need to have the foresight to plan for scale from the get-go. While
AWS acknowledges that know-how and skill set may continue to be a gap in the
near future, the company is working with Universities to train the future. In
Malaysia alone, AWS is training over 100,000 students who will soon enter the
work force ready with the skills and knowledge required to take advantage of
Cloud Computing.
That
said, companies have to look to scale dynamically. As businesses continue to
grow rapidly thanks to the internet, they need to be ready, from the beginning,
to cope with scale. At a moment’s notice, they may be required to adapt from
thousands to hundreds of thousands of transactions. This can only be achieved
when infrastructure is able to scale as such. With Cloud computing platforms
such as AWS, SMEs need not worry about new infrastructure acquisition. Instead,
they are able to accommodate with simple automation the increased scale.
Malaysia is already moving towards industry 4.0 with the push from the government as well as industry. More importantly, SMEs need to learn to iterate – at scale – to accommodate the needs and demands of their customers. That said, it is still early days in Malaysia. The change in mindset needed for the country and its industries to fully appreciate and benefit the potential of Industry 4.0 is still in its growing stages. Mr Santanu stresses that with the passage of time and the willingness of Malaysian SMEs in adopting new technologies and approaches, there is no doubt that the country will be able to reap the many benefits of Industry 4.0.