Aliyun eyes huge global expansion

Aliyun will carry out strategic cooperation with IT service provider Digital China Holdings Ltd and global audit and advisory firm Deloitte to promote the development of cloud business. [Photo/IC]

Firm to open four overseas data centers by end of the year

Alibaba Group's cloud computing subsidiary Aliyun plans to open four overseas data centers in Japan, Europe, Australia and the Middle East by the end of this year, to speed up the global deployment of its cloud computing infrastructure.

It will also support more than 50 global leading software companies to launch businesses in the Chinese market next year and introduce world-advanced information technologies and solutions into China.

The first batch of partners includes 11 international software providers, such as software company SAP SE, SUSE Linux GmbH and data management and storage company Hitachi Data Systems.

"The total number of overseas users of Aliyun increased by 700 percent last year," Yu Sicheng, Aliyun's vice-president, said at the Computing Conference in Beijing on Tuesday.

Yu added its major services cover artificial intelligence, security and enterprise-class internet architecture. At present, the company has set up data centers in Hong Kong, Singapore and the United States.

Yu announced the company has established a strategic cooperative partnership with smartphone maker HTC Corp, to provide technical support and cloud services for HTC's VR devices brand HTC Vive to boost the virtual reality industry.

"It is an important integration for virtual reality and cloud computing industry. Aliyun, which has an advantage in cloud computing and developers' resources, could help HTC Vive to launch in China better and provide more fluent and abundant content for VR consumers," said Alvin Wang Graylin, who is in charge of HTC's VR business in China.

Moreover, Aliyun will carry out strategic cooperation with IT service provider Digital China Holdings Ltd and global audit and advisory firm Deloitte to promote the development of cloud business.

Charlie Dai, principal analyst at Forrester Research Inc, told China Daily: "The cloud market is growing rapidly both in China and abroad. The competition of cloud players is switching from infrastructure layer to the whole platform and value ecosystem."

"Aliyun's expansion of its data center footprint is critical for its globalization, not only to enable its global initiatives, but also to drive digital transformation in the local market of each region," he said.

The worldwide cloud services market is projected to grow 16.5 percent in 2016 to total $204 billion, up from $175 billion in 2015, according to consultancy Gartner Inc.