In an interview with Huawei’s Global Public Sector team, they delved into the latest developments and business scope of Huawei’s Global Public Sector and shared their future strategic direction and vision of promoting the upgrade of national digital infrastructure.
“One cloud means we are focusing on providing cloud services and cloud infrastructure to the various segments of public sector. We are building government cloud, education cloud, and cloud for all these segments, as well as network, which is also very important. We are building the government’s national backbone. We provide networking for schools, hospitals and various scenarios. And at the same time, we are looking for ecosystem partners across the globe to provide end-to-end solutions for global government and public sector,” said Simon Zou, Huawei’s vice president for global public sector.
Huawei’s one cloud, one network strategy has so far covered more than 700 cities in more than 100 countries across the globe. Among the major successful projects that serve as a good example is their partnership with the government of Thailand. Huawei sees Thailand as a promising digital hub in Southeast Asia for its policies as well as its constant support of the digital economy.
Among Huawei’s remarkable projects in Thailand is at Srinakharinwirot University (SWU), which is seen as a global demo site for smart education. This also sets a new standard for the digital transformation of universities and colleges across the globe. Huawei’s Intelligent Multi-Service Network Solution for Higher Education now serves as a complete response to the complex network requirements of SWU by offering campus-wide network connectivity, multi-network convergence and high-speed interconnection. “We provide the connection to millions [of] students across the world so they can have the internet access to the content they should enjoy. By doing this, we provide the students the equal rights to education,” Zou added.
Aside from education, Huawei has also helped Thailand streamline its government operations by deploying its cloud technology in the country’s Government Data Center and Cloud (GDCC) project to support cloud adoption and transition in government.
Key Challenges in Different Public Sectors Worldwide
While Thailand has proven to be at the forefront of digital transformation in the region, not all its regional neighbors are on the same track.
However, since the pandemic, many governments have updated their digital agendas. Koh Hong Eng, global chief public services industry scientist of Huawei, said, “We’ve been working with many governments around the world on digital transformation, and we could tell very clearly that COVID has actually accelerated their digital agenda. Most governments have realized that digital agenda is no longer an option, it’s mandatory for the survival of a country, not just competitiveness.”
Koh, however, pointed out that no two governments are the same, especially for a big country. He has identified three key challenges that different governments are facing. First, many countries still lack the basics of connectivity and computing capabilities.
Koh explained, “Digital transformation should be for the people, but without data, you cannot have digital transformation. And data is the new crude oil…so digital transformation needs to create values from the raw data. And without the pipe, you cannot have the oil. That pipe is always neglected, and that is challenge number one in many countries.”