Huawei wows Global Forum

Network World - Brussels, Belgium -- The 20th annual Global Forum last week highlighted the growing power of Asian information industries, plus the formidable technology challenges facing IT professionals who grapple with increasingly urgent integration requirements as systems converge and people become more mobile.

Called "the Davos of IT," Global Forum often forecasts world trends in the information and communication industries. The invitation-only delegates came from 29 countries and multiple international organizations, such as the European Commission and the World Bank. This year's conference focused on "Mobilizing Organizations and People for Sustainable Growth."

Telecommunications as a whole and Asian information industries in particular have been spared the worst impacts of the financial downturn for the most part. Asian companies are on the move, notably the Chinese telecom power Huawei which had a commanding presence at Global Forum. The $28 billion company employs 110,000 people, with 51,000 of them outside of China. Taking a page from IBM's book, many of its international employees are from the local regions.

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For example, Bosco Eduardo Fernandes, originally from Portugal, is head of the company's European Research Centre in Germany, one of 20 R&D facilities worldwide. Huawei invests 10% of its annual revenue in R&D and notes that 46% of its employees are engaged in R&D work.

As part of the Global Forum Open Innovation panel, Fernandes presented Huawei's strategy to establish its presence in IT solutions, lead in network development, and expand in devices. It intends to establish itself as a consumer brand, excel as a telecom carrier, and expand in the enterprise market.

Ao (Leo) Sun, Huawei's Brussels office and European Affairs president, shared the company's view that the cloud computing era has arrived, but that it's still too soon to fix strategies and vision. He called for more cooperation between players and for global cloud standards. Many speakers noted that United States companies are ahead of the rest of the world in the cloud computing arena and in research and development overall.

Another company looking to expand globally is the Japanese company KDDI, which has a reputation for innovation and an international reach already spanning 26 countries. The company's "3M Strategy" said Kan'ichiro Aritomi, KDDI Vice-Chairman, focuses on "multi-network, multi-device, multi-use." Wi-Fi is the approach they use to link networks in mobile phones, Fiber to the Home, Wi-Max, and CATV networks.

With revenue of more than $40 billion, KDDI intends to "utilize the expertise we have gained in Japan to aggressively develop consumer business overseas."

Mobility and convergence

Technology convergence and social mobility have arrived, and are now inseparable. Speakers called for USA-style abilities for citizens to move and settle beyond the boundaries of their home state or region. For example, a German could spend most of his work career in Great Britain and retire on a pension in Spain.