China's Huawei plan to gatecrash Microsoft, Amazon and Google cloud dominance

Cloud will be dominated by no more than five major organisations, claimed Huawei CEO Guo Ping

Huawei is planning a major push into cloud computing, following the unveiling of a series of initiatives at its Huawei Connect 2017 event in Shanghai today, and the establishment of the company's cloud-business unit in March this year.

"In the future, we predict there will be five major clouds in the world. Huawei will work with our partners to build one of those five clouds, and we've got the technology and know-how to do it," said CEO Guo Ping in a keynote session.

Ping claimed that the company will build a global cloud network based on its own public clouds, as well as clouds that it has built together with partners, including major telcos BT, Telefónica, Deutsche Telekom and Orange (formerly France Telecom).

Guo likened Huawei's strategy to the three major airline alliances - SkyTeam, Star Alliance, and Oneworld - which take passengers wherever they need to go in the world. Huawei Cloud, he said, would open up the world to its users.

In his keynote, Ping suggested that Huawei would make money from its cloud by "monetising technology and services, not data". In particular, the company claimed that its cloud technology would emphasise security.

"Huawei's full-stack capabilities ensure a level of security that far succeeds that of any independent IT system," the company claimed in a statement released this morning.

Zheng Yelai, president of Huawei's Cloud Business Unit, claimed that Huawei's cloud already boasts 12 vehicle manufacturers, including Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz, as well as Philips, and the Commercial and Industrial Bank of China (ICBC).

Huawei also announced the launch of its new ‘Enterprise Intelligence cloud services', by which the company will provide a platform of general and scenario-specific solutions to offer to vertical industry sectors.

However, it admitted that its cloud strategy was primarily aimed at Chinese companies, with "solutions that help Chinese companies go global", as well as to "help companies outside China enter the Chinese market".