Nurturing Local Talents

Alibaba Cloud is a world-leading cloud service provider that operates in 86 zones strategically located across 28 regions worldwide. It provides global clients with a full range of cloud services, including elastic computing, database, storage, network virtualization services, large-scale computing, security, management and application services, big data analytics, a machine learning platform, and Internet of Things services. . 

Alibaba Cloud launched its first data centre in Hong Kong in 2014. It currently operates three data centres in the city and was the largest Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) provider in Hong Kong in 2021, according to Gartner. The company remains eager to nurture talents for Hong Kong and accelerate digital transformation further.

Growing local talents

Hong Kong is an important market for Alibaba Cloud, hence the company emphasis on nurturing local talents. With a pool of high-tech talents, the innovation ability and international competitiveness of different industries can be enhanced. 

"We launched the Alibaba Cloud talent development programme in Hong Kong in November 2022, providing 300 free training courses covering cloud computing, data analysis, artificial intelligence and machine learning to more than 2 000 students. Students from nine local universities and institutions will participate in the programme,” Liu says. “Students can also use free computing resources to conduct research and develop projects."

Alibaba Cloud is also collaborating with HKU Space and the SEED Foundation to set up a three-level cloud computing course for secondary school students that aims to equip them with basic knowledge of cloud computing.

“As an international city with a business-friendly environment, Hong Kong has always been a gateway for foreign companies to connect with the Mainland China market. The city’s world-class digital infrastructure catalyses connections between investors, start-ups, enterprises, and global resources—with cloud service as the important foundation of digital transformation and long-term business success. Continued government investment is helping create enormous potential for companies to expand their businesses in Hong Kong,” Liu explains.

Accelerating digital transformation

Alibaba Cloud is confident that cloud services are key to unlocking the digital potential of Hong Kong and essential infrastructure for the city’s future development. With continued investment and support from government, Alibaba Cloud sees the opportunity to support the businesses in the city to unleash significant potential through digital transformation. 

“Alibaba Cloud helps Hong Kong enterprises grasp digital transformation and regional development opportunities via our cloud-native technology and industry solutions. Our service is empowering industries from financial services, retailing, and transportation to internet and tourism,” Liu says. 

Alibaba Cloud pledges to continue to invest in the Hong Kong market, and sees finance and retail as key industries to focus on. The company is committed to enhancing the effectiveness of industry solutions. For example, it launched a range of financial service solutions in September 2022, including 70 products, to assist financial service institutions to digitalize their operations and enhance customer experiences.