How will telcos handle the video “cash cow”?
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Huawei hosted over 500 media and analysts to its 14th annual Analyst Summit, with a variety of executives discussing their roadmaps.
“Huawei will remain committed to building more connections, enlarging data pipes, and driving digital transformation,” said rotating CEO Eric Xu in an opening keynote.
Xu said that cloud services are already a basic business model. “Beginning in 2017, Huawei will focus on public cloud services. We will invest heavily in building an open and trusted public cloud platform, which will be the foundation of a Huawei Cloud Family.”
This cloud-based unit “will include public clouds we develop together with operators, and public clouds that we operate on our own,” said Xu.
William Xu, executive director and chief strategy marketing officer, said that digital transformation “opens up immense new potential for value-driven growth in traditional industries.” He said that ICT infrastructure is a pillar for economic growth, and that “the cloud in particular is key to unleashing the power of connectivity.”
He said “Huawei recommends that countries and industries turn their attention to digital transformation as a driver for growth, and pursue greater development and investment opportunities in emerging fields like cloud computing, IoT, and big data.”
Ryan Ding, executive director and president of products & solutions, said in his keynote that operators in some markets are beginning to monetize video services, with an early winner being high-definition streaming of sports events. Ding pegged video at “70% of [mobile] traffic” in the near future, with 1K (1080p), 2K and 4K options available depending on the operator.
“will include public clouds we develop together with operators, and public clouds that we operate on our own,”
In a media roundtable interview, Ding offered more granular data on the future of mobile video, describing it as a “new cash cow for mobile operators.”
“We believe that 2K on smartphones and 4K on TVs is the sweet spot,” he said, noting that “different countries have different situations.”
Ding described sports as the most popular content worldwide, giving an example of Spanish pubs that draw punters with live 4K broadcasts of football matches. As he described it, the largest TV features traditional match coverage while additional displays show different views of the same match—an experience viewers won’t get at home. He also said Huawei’s X Lab Insights estimates the overall entertainment market opportunity alone at $650 billion worldwide by 2020.
Ding isn’t bullish on videoconferencing, but sees opportunities in the video surveillance market. There are 1.3 million CCTV cameras in Beijing alone, he said. “Last year in China, operators deployed 40 million IPTV sets,” said Ding. “This number is comparable to the number deployed from 2005-2015.”
The Huawei president of products & solutions urged operators to migrate legacy systems to the cloud, adding that those in China are better positioned for the move than operators in Europe who are more vested in their legacy systems.
Questions & Answers
Q.What is Huawei's core business strategy moving forward?
What is Huawei's core business strategy moving forward?
Huawei aims to build more connections, enlarge data pipes, and drive digital transformation. They will focus heavily on developing an open and trusted public cloud platform, which will form the foundation of a Huawei Cloud Family.
Q.How does Huawei see the public cloud services developing?
How does Huawei see the public cloud services developing?
Huawei will invest heavily in building an open and trusted public cloud platform. This platform will include public clouds developed jointly with operators, as well as those operated by Huawei itself, starting from 2017.
Q.What specific opportunities does Huawei identify in the video market for operators?
What specific opportunities does Huawei identify in the video market for operators?
Huawei sees high-definition streaming of sports as an early winner, particularly 2K on smartphones and 4K on TVs. They also highlight opportunities in video surveillance and a global entertainment market worth $650 billion by 2020.
Q.Which operators are better placed to embrace cloud migration according to Huawei?
Which operators are better placed to embrace cloud migration according to Huawei?
Operators in China are better positioned to migrate their legacy systems to the cloud. This is because operators in Europe are described as being more invested in their existing legacy systems, making their transition more challenging.
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