At our Collide: Powering the China Cloud conference couple days ago, speakers from various areas ranging from computer vendors like Lenovo, phone manufacturers such as HTC to internet companies including Shanda and RenRen shared their visions and thoughts on cloud computing and future trends.
Some inspiring opinions are highlighted as below:
Lu Gang (TechNode Editor-in-chief):
Cloud computing isn’t something new in China, but its definition and trends have been changed with the smartphone and mobile internet prosperity.
Ray Yam (HTC China Head):
HTC has been considering how to turn cloud computing into something that consumers can benefit from for a while. At HTC, cloud computing is also known as “HTCSense”, which represents HTC’s understanding and delivery of mobile cloud computing.
In the past, mobile user experience highly relies on the hardware capacity of mobile phones and therefore constrains by it, that’s why HTC spent lots of efforts on HTCSense.com, in hopes of breaking through the constrain and offering customers unlimited mobile user experience. HTCSense.com isn’t just a website, it’s also the mobile cloud computing platform and an extension of HTC smartphone.
For example, customer can upload their text messages, contact details, emails to HTCSense.com, this is an elementary application of cloud computing. And users can also upload their pictures taken in every corner of the world to HTC cloud storage servers and tag their memories in the map. HTC provides customers with unlimited storage space.
On top of that, user can locate their stolen phone and remotely control and even delete secret info on the phone after uploading them into HTC cloud server in case of serious damage.
The development of cloud computing is closely interrelated to the development in mobile communication.
Michael Zhao (Head of Integration Service , Paypal China):
As we already had TV in the Cloud(SmartTV) and Phone in the Cloud(smartphones), what Paypal is trying to do can be seen as “Money in the Cloud”. Mobile payment will become more convenient as mobile internet evolves going forward.
And from Paypal’s experience, Chinese internet users are willing to pay, as long as the service is good. For example, statistics by Angry Birds shows that more and more Chinese gamers are buying Angry Birds for updates and new features. And in the future, more and more new features and creative ideas will base on sensors of mobile.
Comsenz (Tencent) Kevin Dai:
Lots of Tencent solutions have been built into Comsenz products, such as Cloud Screening system, Tencent Analytics and Soso full-text search solutions. Since Tencent have plunged into many areas ranging from social networking, group buying to online payment, Comsenz and Tencent have lots of opportunities of combining their strengths.
In the future, we will see cloud computing the same way we see internet today. Cloud computing will become infrastructure someday.
Deng Jishen (Shanda Everbox):
To many people, cloud storage is a simple and dirty job, but actually cloud storage isn’t that easy. You have to take into consideration lots of things like remote backup and so on. Shanda hopes that whatever client the user chooses, they can have access to their files without any hassle.
Huangjing (RenRen Produdct Director):
Venturing into mobile games will bring up many constraints in the past. For example, iPhone doesn’t support flash. But with the advance of technology, many companies are now trying to build up games using HTML5, which is supported by all platforms.
Also, smartphone took over 60% of mobile market, it’s highly likely that smartphone holds majority of Chinese phone market, which is a boost to social applications, giving user the capability of always online.
Cao Ming (3G.cn VP):
Developers in big cities shouldn’t focus only on iPhone, there’re more common smart phone users in the second and third tier cities, which provides a bigger market.
As for future trends, One Machine will come true, which means whatever your mobile device is, it will always connect with cloud computing.