GITEX 2024: Inside Huawei’s vision for an ‘intelligent future’

Dr. Mohamed Madkour, vice president of ICT strategy and marketing at Huawei ME&CA

In this Q&A, Dr. Mohamed Madkour, vice president of ICT strategy and marketing at Huawei ME&CA, outlines Huawei’s plans for GITEX Global 2024.

The company aims to accelerate industrial digitalisation and intelligence with its latest innovations.

Madkour highlights Huawei’s vision for an intelligent future powered by AI, 5G, and cloud computing. He also shares how Huawei is developing local talent and working with governments to drive digital transformation across the region.

What is the main theme of Huawei’s participation in GITEX Global 2024?

Huawei’s main theme at GITEX Global 2024 is “Accelerate Industrial Digitalization and Intelligence.” This theme emphasizes the critical role of digital and ICT technologies in driving success for countries and governments. It aligns with Huawei’s vision of a fully connected, intelligent world and demonstrates the company’s commitment to accelerating industrial digitalization and intelligence on a global scale.  

Digital and intelligence technology drives the fourth industrial revolution, bringing unprecedented productivity leaps. Huawei envisions a transformative intelligent future in which the digital intelligence revolution is gradually advancing and unlocking greater economic prosperity, productivity, and happiness for citizens. 

As a Diamond Sponsor of the event, Huawei is utilizing this platform to showcase a comprehensive array of innovative products and solutions that support this vision. We are focused on helping industries harness the power of digital technologies and AI to enhance their operations, improve efficiency, and drive innovation. 

What are the key pillars of the transformative intelligent future that Huawei is promoting?

Huawei is promoting four key pillars for a transformative intelligent future, summarized by the acronym ‘SITE’. The first pillar, Services, focuses on digital services that enhance various aspects of life and work. Infrastructure, the second pillar, involves developing robust digital foundations to support advanced technologies. The third pillar, Talents, emphasizes nurturing and developing skilled professionals in digital technologies. The final pillar, Environment (Ecosystem), aims to create a conducive ecosystem for digital innovation and growth. These pillars collectively form the foundation of Huawei’s approach to driving digital transformation across industries and societies. 

Huawei sees a strong positive relationship between digital transformation and societal well-being. We are confident that digital transformation can bring happiness to people, increase organizational productivity, and foster prosperity for countries. Additionally, Huawei believes that investing in digital technologies and ICT is essential for countries’ growth and success in the modern world. This approach aligns with Huawei’s overarching theme of creating a transformative intelligent future that benefits people, industries, and economies alike.

What technologies does Huawei consider foundational for enabling this intelligent future?

Huawei considers several technologies to be the foundation for enabling an intelligent future. Big, unified data is crucial for integrating and analyzing large volumes of information from various sources. On the other hand, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is leveraged for advanced capabilities across different applications. Cloud computing provides scalable and flexible computing resources essential for processing and storing vast amounts of data. Meanwhile, 5G-Advanced (5G-A) enables high-speed, low-latency communication for advanced applications.  

Together, these technologies form the backbone of Huawei’s solutions and are critical in realizing the vision of a transformative intelligent future. 

Can you elaborate on Huawei’s Global Digitalization Index (GDI)?

In 2014, Huawei released its first Global Connectivity Index (GCI) report. The GCI quantifies the value of connectivity and its impact on the digital economy. However, with digitalization having a greater impact on the digital economy, Huawei and IDC decided to jointly develop a new Global Digitalization Index (GDI), which was also released at Huawei Connect 2024.  

Building on the GCI, the GDI factors in new indicators that look at digital infrastructure, including computing, storage, cloud, and green energy. The GDI provides economic and digital metrics that support the importance of digital transformation for countries and industries. It serves as an instrument for assessing digital progress and identifying areas for improvement, enabling governments and organizations to make informed decisions about their digital strategies. The GDI offers insights into various aspects of digital development, including infrastructure readiness, skill levels, innovation ecosystems, and industry digitization. This multi-faceted approach allows stakeholders to better understand their digital landscape and benchmark their progress against global standards. 

This research covers countries that represent a total of 93% of the world’s GDP and covers 80% of the world’s population, which gives a good indication of the general progress in global digital transformation. The research found that each US$1 investment in ICT results in a US$8.3 return in a country’s digital economy. Interestingly, the GDI also revealed that the proportion of STEM graduates in different countries is similar, but the conversion rate to ICT professionals varies greatly by country. We believe this should spur a call to action to better address these differences that directly inhibit progress in digital economic development. ICT talent development is, therefore, a crucial foundational stone for our future intelligent society.

How is Huawei contributing to the development of local talent in the region?

Huawei is making substantial investments in the region to cultivate local digital talent through academic collaborations and certification programs. The company has implemented several initiatives to support this goal. For instance, the Huawei ICT Competition challenges students to apply their knowledge in practical scenarios, fostering innovation and problem-solving skills. The Seeds for the Future program, a global CSR initiative, aims to develop skilled, local ICT talent and bridge communication between countries and cultures. Meanwhile, the ICT Academy partners with educational institutions to offer ICT courses and certification programs, ensuring students are equipped with industry-relevant skills.  

These programs are designed to support sustainable societal development and enable countries to become digital hubs. By fostering local talent, Huawei is contributing to the long-term digital capabilities of the region, ensuring that countries have the skilled workforce needed to drive and maintain digital transformation. During the last decades, Huawei has developed 240 ICT academies and ten Huawei Authorized Learning Partners (HALPs) with education sectors and training Institutions, training 50,000 local ICT talents annually.

What message does Huawei have for governments regarding digital transformation?

Huawei emphasizes that ICT industrialization and industry digitalization are crucial for sustainable economic futures. We encourage governments to establish favorable policies and environments that support digital transformation. Additionally, Huawei stresses the necessity of continuous investments and public-private partnerships for countries to lead in the digital era. This approach fosters a supportive ecosystem for digital innovation, including developing robust digital infrastructure, fostering digital talent through education and training programs, promoting collaboration between the public and private sectors, and implementing policies encouraging technological adoption and innovation.  

Our approach underscores the importance of a holistic approach to digital transformation, where government policies, private sector innovation, and workforce development all play crucial roles in achieving digital leadership.