With strong results from its server operation in 2018, Dell EMC expects Greater China to be the key growth driver for its enterprise segment in the next couple of years, as businesses in the region need to transform their systems onto cloud platforms, according to Felix Xu, director of the company's cloud business for Greater China.
Many enterprises in the Greater China region have been keen to embrace cloud systems, especially medium- to large-size ones that need more flexibility offered by cloud platforms, said Xu.
The most commonly seen cloud transformation request is about automation of datacenters. Instead of manually inputting and adjusting data, Microsoft's Azure and VMware let systems do automatic deployment and management work, Xu noted.
The second type of cloud transformation request is about management systems for innovation. When enterprises' R&D departments have new ideas, a flexible and efficient cloud platform is necessary to quickly outline the concept and begin processing, he said.
The third type of request is about technologies for compatibility. For many multinational enterprises, backing up data from a private cloud system to a public one or vice versa requires technologies that help bridge the two sides. For some companies, they require data transmission between multiple cloud systems, Xu stated.
Public cloud platforms were popular choice among enterprises for cloud transformation a while ago and their key advantages come from their convenience and efficiency. But over the past two years, there has been rising demand from enterprises for backing up their data from a public cloud to a private cloud.
Enterprises are turning to private cloud systems because of concerns about public cloud in terms of data security, government regulations and higher costs to back up data compared to private ones, Xu added.
Another trend that has been happening in the Greater China's cloud computing market is that enterprises are returning to adopt solutions provided by major software developer such as VMware or Microsoft. Many of them originally hoped to avoid the control of these large solution providers by using open source software such as Open Stack, but it has turned out such open-source platforms do not have resources necessary for further development of these platforms to meet their needs, Xu said.
For enterprises to undergo cloud transformation, they need to recruit a chief data officer (CDO) who can analyze each cloud system's structure and optimize a company's data backup strategy, Xu said.
Felix Xu, director of Dell EMC Greater China's Cloud Business
Photo: Michael Lee, Digitimes, January 2019
Article translated by Joseph Tsai
