No Leader is Secure in Cloud Computing’s Long-Haul Race in China, Kingsoft CEO Says – Yicai Global
What happened: Dominance in the cloud computing sector is a long distance race, with no clear indication of who will become the frontrunner in the future, Kingsoft Cloud CEO Wang Yulin says. He added that the sector has begun expanding into government and traditional markets and that users have shifted from being internet companies to standard businesses and government.
Why it’s important: The cloud computing sector is likely to see increased competition in the coming months given Tencent’s focus on this area of its business. In October, it announced plans to restructure, resulting in the creation of a business unit focusing on cloud computing and smart industries, along with planned investment in the billions of dollars. The move to enterprise-facing products resulted from slowing growth in its gaming division due to increased government control over content. Tencent’s shift puts it in line with Alibaba’s focus on digitizing traditional businesses. While Alibaba has a clear lead, it will be interesting to see what effect Tencent’s shift will have on the sector.