Aliyun & Inspur Partner to Beat Cloud Competition
Aliyun has entered into a partnership deal with Inspur, the largest high-end cloud computing company in China, to offer a complete package of cloud computing services in China. Aliyun is the Cloud Division of Alibaba, the largest ecommerce company in China. This partnership will offer a complete suite of cloud computing services to all clients.
Aliyun brings Apsara, its cloud computing platform to the table. While Inspur on the other hand, is keen on providing the cloud computing infrastructure platform that it has offered its clients since its inception in the 1960’s.
At present, Aliyun target two types of clientele; local businesses operating locally and local businesses operating in other countries. When Aliyun opened shop, they started by targeting financial organizations, government research institutes and startups. Yet, at it stands, every country has its own internet regulations which is a major hurdle for any foreign company. However, this is precisely what Aliyun is trying to eliminate, by expanding to Greater China and other East Asia countries. This way, their local clients will not have to personally deal with new regulations when they expand their businesses to these areas.
If recent partnerships are anything to go by, Aliyun seems to be positioning itself as the leading cloud computing supplier and cloud services provider. Earlier in May this year, Aliyun partnered with yet another influential company in China’s IT industry, Neusoft. This partnership was formed to encourage growth of businesses offering cloud services in certain sectors like government, information technology and enterprise. Before that, Aliyun had partnered with ChinaNetCloud to host their Server Check Service in December last year. This service was hosted and made available for purchase through Aliyun’s Cloud Market.
Although Aliyun has cemented its position as one of the biggest cloud computing companies in China, it has not been an easy journey. It has faced fierce competition from both local and international companies. The increase in cloud computing service providers was necessitated by the increasing need to store data, especially with the increased use of smart phones.
While tech giants like consumer-oriented Google and Facebook have not penetrated China market due to censorship motions by the government, others like business-oriented Amazon and IBM have been lucky. Both have had a fair share of the cloud computing market.
Amazon rolled out its Amazon Web Services China to offer cloud computing services to small and medium businesses as well as individuals. Amazon scooped some of the largest Chinese Tech companies like Kingsoft, Xiaomi and Qihoo 360. Being the only company that supports Netflix also helped them acquire individual clientele in the masses. Furthermore, IBM decided to partner with 21Vianet to offer SmartCloud Enterprise + to businesses. Although IBM’s threat is not major, it is important to note that 21Vianet is the sole provider of Microsoft software services in China, much like like Office 365 and Windows Azure among other services.
After Alibaba filed for IPO at the New York Stock Exchange, there were rumors that they were planning to expand to the US region. However, Aliyun does not seem keen on expanding its boundaries to the US territory at the moment. They list Chinese companies and international companies operating in China as their competitors. However, this will remain to be a case of wait-and-see. After all, there are Chinese global brands operating in not only the US, but also Europe.
When Aliyun begun the race, it had a clear vision; to beat both local and international competition. Sometimes, when you can’t beat them you join them. Evidently, Aliyun has chosen to partner with its local competitors. Obviously, it will not stop with its partnership with Inspur. As such, it is clear that Aliyun is planning to be an all-round cloud service provider and supplier.
