Alibaba Cloud to help companies fast-track China market entry

Alibaba Cloud has launched a China Gateway Program with eight local partners: the Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA), Enterprise Singapore, DBS SME Banking, Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCCI), SMU Academy, SGTech, Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE) and TechNode.

Alibaba Cloud, the data intelligence backbone of the Alibaba Group, has held its 2^nd Alibaba Cloud APAC Summit in Singapore last week, where it showed how it is squarely in Asia for Asia.

The company unveiled of a China Gateway Program at the event, with the Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA), Enterprise Singapore, DBS SME Banking, Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCCI), SMU Academy, SGTech, Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE) and TechNode. The programme supports local businesses of all sizes in their growth beyond Singapore, especially into China.

“As the largest public cloud provider in Asia Pacific and our role as the data intelligence backbone of all business units in the Alibaba ecosystem from e-commerce to payments, logistics and supply chain management means we have the proven expertise and experience to help businesses grow. With the support of our partners here, we are confident of supporting local businesses of all sizes and from all backgrounds to grow beyond Singapore, especially into China’s market.” said Selina Yuan, President of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence International.

Yuan said Alibaba Cloud will help fast-track customers' entry into China on a fully-protected security platform with the sharing of resources, best practices and knowledge of local law and regulations. "Our mission is to make it easy to do business everywhere, especially for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs)," she said.

Guest of honour Chee Hong Tat, Singapore Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry & Ministry of Education, said in a speech: "While digital technologies can create new opportunities, the successful implementation of new ideas often requires close collaboration with partners. Digital
solution providers offer a diverse suite of solutions from supply chain management to traffic incident response, across various industries, which businesses can take advantage of to strengthen their capabilities and grow our local ecosystem. To this end, I am heartened that Alibaba Cloud is committed to work with Singapore-based MNCs* and SMEs on this effort. Beyond digital transformation, Alibaba Cloud’s China Gateway Program can also be a valuable channel for Singapore SMEs to access China as they think about internationalisation."

"Overseas expansion continues to be a priority for DBS SME customers. However, many lack on-ground market knowledge and understanding of business requirements. To navigate these new markets, it is crucial that they work with the right partners and advisors to give their business a head-start. DBS is honoured to be the banking partner for Alibaba’s Cloud’s China Gateway initiative, and look forward to helping our customers capture new growth opportunities in the Greater China region. Our customers can leverage our global network, on-ground expertise and partners to fast-track their growth plans," said Tan Su Shan, Group Head of Institutional Banking, DBS Bank.

The program leverages the knowhow and experience of Alibaba Cloud, which has powered Alibaba Group’s growth to help local businesses capture and capitalise on growth opportunities in Asia and China. Through the local partners in Singapore and around the region, Alibaba Cloud will provide firms of all sizes with an in-depth immersion programme on doing business in China, connecting them to Chinese companies and consumers via the Alibaba ecosystem.

At the summit, Yuan emphasised that Alibaba Cloud is in Asia for Asia, and not in China for China. According to Yuan, "Alibaba Cloud is positioned as cloud for data intelligence for the future makers of Asia Pacific".

Alibaba Cloud separately announced a partnership with WeWork, the platform for creators that provides the space, community and services to help people make a life not just a living, and SoftBank Telecom China, the consultancy of enterprise-grade solutions, as part of the China Gateway programme.

The partnership offers a one-stop platform, from cloud-based technology solutions, enterprise services, flexible working space, events to business consulting – for business of all sizes looking to enter China or scale up their presence in the market.

Businesses can benefit from the cloud and data intelligence technologies, cross-border IT infrastructure, as well as enterprise solutions tailored for different sectors offered by Alibaba Cloud, the largest cloud service provider in the Asia Pacific region (APAC). In addition, programme participants can enjoy flexible collaborative space (­private, shared or customised), networking events, as well as accessibility and connections to target customers, business partners and the broader ecosystem from WeWork in China. Professional IT consulting services provided by Softbank Telecom China are also part of the programme benefits, along with go-to-market support, access to local tech communities and other business support from all three partners. The programme aims to empower global companies to create and expand business opportunities into the Chinese market.

“It is a first of its kind opportunity for any businesses focusing on the China market, as they can benefit from the local expertise, vertical-focused experience and innovation from three of the most-visionary companies in the world in one package. Together we are committed to supporting global enterprises to connect with digitally-savvy Chinese customers,” said Lancelot Guo, VP of Alibaba Group and GM of Strategy and Marketing for Alibaba Cloud Intelligence.

“With Alibaba Cloud’s innovative technologies and Alibaba’s ecosystem support, we hope to help tackle some common challenges faced by multinational companies entering or growing in China, enabling them to explore more opportunities in the market and stay competitive.”

“The partnership is significant to WeWork because we ourselves have been through the journey of setting up and scaling our business in China. When we began our journey here in China back in 2016, we had to adopt a very localised approach to navigate in this very unique business environment,” said Christian Lee, Vice Chairman, WeWork Asia.

“We are grateful that we have developed a successful strategy and build the largest workplace platform in China. Leveraging our own experience and our partnership with Alibaba Cloud, we are confident to support and empower companies to enter and scale in China – through our holistic offering of space, community, employee experience, as well as accessibility to meaningful business connections and partnerships with the most innovative companies in China.”

The platform also offers exclusive pricing rates for other offerings from Alibaba Cloud and WeWork. On top of traditional offerings, programme participants can also enjoy other privileges such as exclusive Alibaba Cloud-hosted technology workshops, marketing opportunities with Alibaba Cloud, discounts on products and services including business registration, business travel booking on WeWork Services Store, as well as training and events organised by WeWork, Alibaba Cloud, SoftBank Telecom China and other programme partners to deepen their understanding on the business environment in China.

The summit was also the launchpad for more than 10 new products and features, including a new accelerator programme connecting technology partners with the Alibaba ecosystem. Many of these products and features were only launched in March in China, and were introduced outside of China for the first time in Singapore.

“As the largest public cloud provider in Asia Pacific, Alibaba Cloud is speeding up digital transformation in this region by building a world-class cloud infrastructure and we have also been at the forefront of the rapid development of data intelligence. Today, Alibaba Cloud not only provides infrastructure that underpins the entire Alibaba economy from e-commerce and payment, to logistics and supply chain management, but also ensures inclusiveness, so that our cloud technologies can be accessed by companies of all sizes,” said Yuan.

The new products and features that are available globally for the first time outside of China include an SaaS Accelerator, which enables ecosystem partners, such as enterprises in the e-commerce, lodging, and travel industries, to quickly reach their customers on Alibaba platforms.

The accelerator enables technology partners to easily build and launch software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications and leverage proven business and technology knowhow in the Alibaba Economy. SaaS providers can quickly deploy and test their applications on the cloud, shorten the implementation lifecycle, and accelerate time-to-market. According to Dr Derek Wang, GM of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence in Singapore, apps can be created in just five days. 

In line with its commitment to champion small businesses, Alibaba Cloud also launched an upgraded service support campaign designed for SMEs. SME customers will now be able to benefit from greater access to resources and support from Alibaba Cloud. Key benefits of the enhanced support and service include dedicated one-on-one presale consultations, 24x7 technical support, a doubling of complimentary tech support tickets as well as swifter after-sales support.

Alibaba Cloud has the largest infrastructure footprint in the Asia Pacific region, with 15 availability zones outside mainland China, covering the Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, India and Japan markets. International headquarters for Alibaba Cloud were set up in Singapore in August 2015, the same month a Singapore cloud data centre was established. There are currently three availability zones in Singapore. It is also the only global cloud provider with local data centres in Indonesia and Malaysia. Its first cloud-based Anti-DDos Scrubbing Center was opened in Malaysia last year as an additional layer of protection for customers.

*Multinational corporations.