The Power of Platforms: Driving Innovation through a Full-Stack Approach

It’s the world of AI that we live in currently, as everything around us is becoming automated and digitalized. The digital revolution or whatever buzzword you use to define it is upon us, and as it was predicted by many, platforms have an imperative influence here. 

As a Huawei partner and a member of Huawei’s Key Opinion Leader Program I recently attended the Huawei Connect Event in Shanghai, and had the opportunity of witnessing in-depth details into how platforms hold the key stake in AI currently. With AI one could always have had predicted the need for a full-stack approach. The technology, as we see it, needs the correct infrastructure and an environment to prosper. The creation of this infrastructure, the guarantee of this environment, and the availability of a platform is what can be defined as a full-stack approach. 

Digital Platform Trends 

The growing rise of the digital platform is being recognized as a pertinent business model for spelling the change required in this digital transformation. During the last decade, we saw high-tech giants including Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon, Airbnb and Uber use a digital platform for leveraging latest ICT technologies. 

Additionally, the 2017 Emerging Technology Operation Curve by Gartner named over 9 technologies including Digital Twins, IoT, Edge Computing and 5G as a ‘Digital Platform’. Since Digital Platforms are in the top three growing trends of 2018, Gartner currently calls these systems as a ‘Digital Ecosystem’ and extends technologies including data security and block chain under its broad definition. 

The Digital Platform is now being recognized and valued by more and more traditional industries. Many companies from the automobile, consumer electronics, life service, energy and financial sectors are starting visionary and detailed campaigns to test their models for a digital platform. The examples in this regard include Siemen’s Mindshpere, Haier’s Cosmoplat Home Appliance Custom Platform, Philip’s Health suite and many others. 

Research coming from institutes like MIT has verified the growth of digital platforms and how some of the World’s leading brands such as IBM, Microsoft and Google are all platform companies. The proportion of platform-type enterprises is thus on the higher side, when it comes to exploring the top ranked companies from across the globe. 

Differentiated Features of Huawei’s Digital Platforms 

Huawei’s digital platform is a culmination of leading edge digital technology, research and development investments for a continuous long-term period, a customer centric orientation and a strong global execution plan. The digital platform is hence, the perfect option for organizations and customers located across the globe. 

Huawei’s platform features the integration of new ICT technologies of Internet of Things, 5G, Edge Computing, Video, Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence and Big Data. The ability to host a diverse set of technologies in one platform brings agility, business model innovation and efficiency to the picture. Huawei holds the advantage as the leader in building digital technology platforms and has for ages been a strategic partner for enterprises who have had their digital platform play an integral role in their overall success. 

The Key Components of the Platform 

A Digital Platform needs to deliver on the AI needs of all enterprises, helping them achieve their desired goals from it. Huawei’s digital platform is host to numerous key components that give it a competitive advantage and the perfection that you require for your enterprise. Here are some of these important components: 

Customer Centricity 

The digital platform by Huawei focuses on the customers and improves the customer experience for your end consumer. By giving you control over your ecosystem, Huawei so called “platform of platforms” brings it all together to ensure that you give nothing less than the best to your end customer. 

Addressing the different needs of industry in Digital Transformation 

Different industries might need different kinds of technologies for their digital transformation. Huawei’s Digital Platform supports the digital transformation of industries at different stages. Based on current resources and customer requirements, Huawei now supports the government, transportation, finance, energy, and manufacturing industries and other industries.

Full Stack Approach

Huawei’s digital platform gives you a full stack experience of the digital platform strategy. Going digital requires a prominent infrastructure that can bear the load that comes with the move, and a digital platform does exactly that. This Digital Platforms focus not only the PaaS layer but also the IaaS layer. Huawei believes no single technology is able to govern the digital transformation. Instead it must combine IT (e.g. Cloud, Video, IDN, Big Data, Security) and CT's ability (e.g 5G, IoT and ICP). A full stack environment goes from chips to connected networks to terminal devices and then finally to the skilled people that work on these technologies to deliver a seamless customer experience. 

Open Ecosystem / No Lock-In

Finally, Huawei’s digital platform gives you an ecosystem of all your digital needs. You have one platform to work on your digital record in an open, mutually beneficial and cooperative environment. The components inside the platform could be either provided by Huawei or its partners and vendors.

Use Case of Digital Platforms in Play 

We have numerous use cases of Huawei’s digital platform in play. Here are some of them: 

Smart City

Huawei’s Smart City platform integrates IoT, video cloud, converged communication resources, Big Data and geographic information system (GIS) to create an industry leading platform. The increasing pressure on governance has led to the concept of Smart Cities with an integrated ecosystem. Huawei provides the required integration through their innovative and full-stack Smart City digital platform. Huawei AI + Digital Platform helping Tianjin Binhai New Area build a Smart City is an example. The “City Brain” Intelligent Operations Center (IOC) of the city, which enables data sourced from government, enterprise, and citizen services through the Internet and IoT, to be aggregated and processed using AI. This platform provides powerful analytical capabilities to help transform Tianjin BinHai New Area into a smart city.

Digital Banks 

With the digital transformation trend in the financial industry, financial institutions across the globe need to continuously deepen their digital strategies and transformation initiatives to achieve platform-based strategic transformation. Banks are the platform that connects everything and provides digital financial services in a fully-connected era. With the development of technologies such as cloud computing, 5G, Big Data, AI, and blockchain, facial recognition applications for payment authentication, unattended bank branches, and cross-border settlement are becoming a reality. Huawei said its ICT infrastructure is platform-based and has a prosperous financial ecosystem for China Merchants Bank, Commercial Bank of China and more. In the future, financial institutions will become a comprehensive platform for financial information bearing and transactions, and connect all people and things. Huawei focuses on integrating financial values, ensuring better connections, and cooperating with industry partners to accelerate digital transformation. 

Connected Cars 

Huawei’s digital platform propels the true digital transformation in the automobile sector. Focusing on the digital engine of connected and intelligent vehicles, the platform gives four key enablers – data enabler, connectivity enabler, evolution enabler and ecosystem enabler. The platform easily supports over hundreds of millions of concurrent connections. 

Smart Campus

Huawei has adopted the popular Silicon Valley phrase of “Eating your own dog food,” meaning that the development and testing of their new products, services, and business models is based on their own company’s needs before launching these technologies and capabilities to customers. Huawei is deploying the industry’s first all-digital campus pilot project in its own offices around the world, which will be rolled out in 172 countries. Vanke, a leading China-based real estate developer, is also adopting Huawei’s Smart Campus solution (based on its digital platform) to help transform its core business operations, optimize innovation and accelerate new opportunities in the real estate industry. 

Key Competencies and Features of Huawei’ Digital Platform 

Huawei provides a full stack solution to all its digital consumers looking for a digital transformation. Huawei understands the fact that they are one of the first companies to be providing a full stack digital platform that takes the hassle out of the digital transformation. Some of their key competencies include: 

Open Ecosystem 

Huawei has an open ecosystem that is made possible through the inclusion of thousands of partners. Their digital platform has over 20,000 partners, which includes more than 1000 solutions partner, more than 3,000 service partners, and over 16,000 channel partners. The extensive ecosystem hints towards exceptional collaboration from their side. 

Global Execution 

The digital platform from Huawei is customer centric and has a strong global presence with thousands of partners spread across the world. This improves execution ability and ensures that their digital platform is a long-term investment. 

Moreover, their long-term rich experience in the industry makes them a force to reckon with. Many of the Fortune Global Top 500 companies choose Huawei as their partner for a digital platform, as they can trust the company down the line. 

This solution, or the digital platform by Huawei, is a solid foundation for accelerating your digital innovation and transformation forward. The platform assists you in optimally using new technologies including the likes of IoT, AI and Big Data.