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May-June 2016
NEWS & VIEWS 11
Alibaba Cloud expands across China and S Korea
SEOUL — Alibaba Cloud , the cloud computing arm of Alibaba Group Holding , and South Korea-based SK Holding C & C have entered into an agreement that furthers Alibaba Cloud ’ s strategy to provide cloud-based solutions to accelerate the growth of global businesses in China and abroad .
One of the world ’ s major cloud computing platforms , Alibaba Cloud is said to be China ’ s largest , with services covering more than 200 countries and regions . Alibaba Cloud provides cloud computing and big data services to more than 1.8 million users in the finance , transportation , genomics , medical and meteorological industries .
The new partnership will see SK Holdings develop a stable , high-speed dedicated cloud portal in the Korean language for businesses operating in sectors such as gaming , online shopping and ICT ( information and communications technology ). The portal will monitor clients ’ networks and systems round-the-clock and provide infrastructure , resource allocation and management services using resources from Alibaba Cloud .
The platform , which integrates cloud offerings from both Alibaba Cloud and SK Holdings C & C , will assist South Korean companies to enter the China market , and at the same time benefit Chinese companies operating in South Korea .
Yu Sicheng , vice-president of Alibaba Cloud , said : “ SK Holdings C & C is a well-respected ICT service provider in South Korea , and we are proud to partner with them to extend our global footprint . We believe the collaboration will empower clients from both Alibaba Cloud and SK by offering them one global account through which they will enjoy reliable , fast-speed cloud services without borders .”
Users of the new portal will also enjoy access to cloud-based solutions developed by third-party ICT companies and start-ups in the forms of PaaS ( Platform as a Service ) and SaaS ( Software as a Service ).
This partnership also lays a foundation for the two parties to cooperate on the recently announced “ Create @ Alibaba Cloud ” initiative , which aims to champion the growth of start-ups in Asia and beyond through comprehensive network support and an innovative suite of cloud infrastructure services .
Lee Kiyeol , head of Finance & Cloud Business Group , SK Holdings C & C , said : “ This partnership provides a fast track to China for South Korean gaming and online shopping companies and small hidden champions . We will provide fast and convenient cloud services to South Korean companies operating in China as well as Chinese firms operating in South Korea .”
Recently , Alibaba Cloud also announced plans to enter into a strategic partnership with SAP China , with a goal of jointly delivering enterprise-class cloud computing services to companies in China .
The alliance aims to accelerate the introduction and adoption of enterprise-class cloud computing across multiple industries to help businesses accelerate their digital transformation .
The partnership initially plans to focus on integrating the resources of Alibaba Cloud and SAP on the Alibaba Cloud platform . Businesses are expected to benefit from a versatile , one-stop shop cloud computing environment that
Kiyeol Lee ( left ), head , Finance & Cloud Business Group , SK Holdings C & C , and Sicheng Yu , vice-president of Alibaba Cloud , at the signing ceremony of a new agreement to provide cloud-based solutions to accelerate the growth of global businesses in China and abroad .
is enabled by Alibaba Cloud ’ s cloud infrastructure , interoperating with SAP ’ s enterprise-class database and business application solutions , and SAP ’ s SaaS offerings .
Alibaba Cloud intends to collaborate with SAP to jointly market and deploy SAP HANA One and SAP ’ s SaaS solutions , enabling businesses to reap the benefits of SAP applications and Alibaba Cloud ’ s cloud computing resources more conveniently .
Mark Gibbs , president of SAP
Greater China , said : “ Alibaba Cloud is China ’ s leading public cloud platform , and SAP is deeply focused on deploying its cloud portfolio and services in China . Through this win-win partnership in the cloud , we will collaboratively grow the ecosystem and bring more innovative cloud solutions to the China market . Together , we will help enterprises to simplify their IT infrastructure , realise business value and accelerate digital transformation .”
More APAC consumers buying 4K / UHD TV sets ?
SINGAPORE – Every one in 10 TV sets sold in Asia-Pacific in the first quarter of this year were 4K / Ultra HD ( UHD ) -enabled , according to a survey conducted by market research firm GfK .
In the survey of 11 markets around the region , individual markets registered between 50 % and 555 % demand surges in their respective 4K / UHD segment , with Vietnam and South Korea being the fastest-growing and largest markets respectively .
Singapore and Hong Kong are the top two markets with highest sales penetration of 4K / UHD models — over one in three TV sets purchased by consumers in these two countries in the first quarter of the year was of 4K / UHD technology .
The segment has also become the biggest contributor of total TV sales revenue in these two markets , at around 65 % for both .
Gerard Tan , account director for technology , Asia , GfK , said : “ Receptivity towards 4K / UHD TV technology is growing at a fast pace , thanks to several key factors such as the increased number of model offerings and consumers ’ becoming more knowledgeable of this technology and its benefits .
“ The price and competition factor has also helped pushed sales as the product has become more affordable compared to a year ago .”
The region ’ s consumers tend to prefer 4K / UHD TV sets with large screen sizes of 55-inch and above . Over half ( 53 %) of all 4K / UHD TVs sold are of this size , although some growth was evident in the 40-45-inch segment in the past year .
Countries that sold the greatest proportion of the 60-inch and above 4K / UHD TV models in the first quarter were Australia ( 37 %), Malaysia ( 27 %) and Korea ( 27 %).
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