Huawei targets enterprise with SingleCloud service

Huawei is gearing up to offer private cloud services directly to businesses, and is in talks with operators to help with the deployment and management of public clouds.

The company is to introduce its SingleCloud platform to the UK in the near future, according to Mario Fan, president of Huawei enterprise in western Europe.

"Huawei will provide comprehensive end-to-end cloud platforms and will address the server, storage, networking and virtualisation needs of SMEs and large enterprises," he told V3.co.uk.

"We will provide an open cloud platform so that customised applications can be created and businesses can deploy them to any device."

In terms of security, the service will comply with all relevant ISO standards, and companies will be able to stipulate where their data is held.

"We are flexible when it comes to data storage and will address the requirements of customers. If businesses want data to be stored locally that is no problem," Fan said.

Huawei has already deployed the SingleCloud service to its research and development centre in Shanghai which houses 6,000 employees.

"All of our information is stored in our datacentre. When a new employee joins, instead of giving them a traditional PC and its associated software, we give them a username and password," said Fan.

"Employees can access applications and services from any clean terminal, and we have seen the cost of deploying and maintaining equipment reduced by 70 per cent."

Fan also confirmed that Huawei is "in talks with operators" in the UK about public cloud offerings. The firm aims to assist networks with building public cloud platforms to help with the increasing consumption of rich media content via smartphones and tablets.

Victor Xu, chief strategy and marketing officer at Huawei Terminal, had previously told V3.co.uk that the firm was looking to break into the high-end smartphone market and build low-cost cloud-based devices.

As part of any deal with operators, Huawei could also ensure a guaranteed high-speed mobile internet service for a premium price, Xu added.