Archivo de la categoría: Alibaba

Alibaba, Alibaba Cloud, Cloud computing, Companies, Database

Alibaba Cloud upgrades AnalyticDB with vector database engine

Alibaba Cloud, the digital technology and intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group, has enhanced its AnalyticDB vector engine, making it easier than ever for enterprises to access various large language models (LLMs) for building their customised generative AI capabilities. At its Data Management Summit hosted in Jakarta, Alibaba Cloud also upgraded its one-stop, cloud-native data management… Read more »

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AI, Alibaba, Artificial intelligence, Database, News & Analysis, Public Cloud, SB Cloud, Softbank

Alibaba and Softbank launch SB Cloud for Japanese market

AlibabaAlibaba and Softbank have announced the establishment of SB Cloud Corporation, a new joint venture to offer cloud computing services in Japan.

The demand for public cloud in Japan and surrounding countries has been growing in recent years, with Japan leading the way as the most advanced nation. A report from Gartner last year estimated the total public cloud services spending in the mature APJ region will rise to $11.5 billion by 2018. Alibaba has targeted the region to grow its already healthy cloud business unit.

“I’ve really enjoyed working with the Alibaba Cloud team on the joint venture over the past few months,” said Eric Gan, the new CEO of SB Cloud and EVP of SoftBank. “During the business planning discussions, I quickly felt that we were all working very much as one team with one goal. I believe the JV team can develop the most advanced cloud platform for Japanese customers, as well as for multinational customers who want to use the resources we have available in Japan.”

SB Cloud will enable Alibaba to increase its presence in the market, where it already offers services to SoftBank’s business customer base in Japan, which primarily comprises of global organizations. SB Cloud will open a new data centre in the country, where it will now serve customers outside of established SoftBank customer base, offering data storage and processing services, enterprise-level middleware as well as cloud security services.

A recent report from the US Department of Commerce highlighted the Japanese market is one of the most competitive worldwide, though five of the six major vendors are American, Amazon Web Services, Google, IBM, Microsoft and Salesforce. Domestic companies, such as Fujitsu, have announced aggressive expansion plans. Fujitsu claims to be to investing $2 billion between 2014 and 2017 to capture an increased market share in cloud computing, primarily focused on the growing IoT sub-sector.

While Alibaba’s traditional business has been in the Chinese market, the company has been making efforts over the last 12-18 months to diversify its outreach. Last year, the company launched a new data centre in Singapore, as well as in Silicon Valley. It also launched what it claims is China’s first cloud AI platform last August, DT PAI. The purpose-built algorithms and machine learning technologies are designed to help users generate predictive intelligence insights, claiming the service features “drag and drop” capabilities that let users easily connect different services and set parameters, seemingly following IBM’s lead in designing a more accessible offering for the industry.

Alibaba, AliCloud, Big Data, China, News & Analysis, Nvidia

AliCloud launches 20 services under brand name Big Data Platform

dataAlibaba Cloud Computing (Alicloud) is to launch 20 new online services to the Chinese market under the brand name Big Data Platform.

The new application service range caters for activities in the data development chain, including processing, analysis, computing, machine learning and big data hosting. Around 1,000 developers are expected to be developing services with AliCloud in the next three years.

The plan is to use all the data-processing capacity and data-security skills that the Alibaba Group has accumulated in ten years of running the world’s biggest ecommerce platform, AliCloud president Simon Hu told reporters at the launch. “That data becomes a resource and a service that we can provide our clients,” said Hu.

Meanwhile, AliCloud is working with US chip specialist Nvidia to develop China’s first GPU-based, high-performance computing cloud platform. Along with offering clients GPU-accelerated computing services AliCloud aims to remove the data bottlenecks that handicap many chinese companies, according to Hu.

The Nvidia GPU-based services could also improve the computing capacity of many of Alibaba’s typical users in China, such as manufacturers and distributors, said Hu. “Right now, AliCloud mainly serves internet companies, but our next step will be to also provide cloud computing services to traditional industries such as manufacturing to remove the computing limitations that these companies may face,” said Hu.

The new launch puts AliCloud in direct contention with big data service supplier Data Mall, a start-up that recently launched an online mall for big data assets. The Data Mall cloud offering helps service providers and independent researchers to trade intelligence and market information. Consulting firm Guan Zheng Hang Seng says the Beijing Datatang owned Data Mall service now has 460,000 users supplying raw data to its platform.

A study by Forrester Research forecast that the enterprise cloud service market in China will be worth $3.8 billion by 2020, more than double its estimated size of $1.8 billion last year. According to Forrester analyst Charlie Dai AliCloud now has the Chinese market’s biggest range of public cloud services and alliances with service providers.

Alibaba, AliCloud, Datacentre, News & Analysis

Alibaba announces second Silicon Valley datacentre

AlicloudAliCloud, the cloud computing arm of Chinese internet giant Alibaba, has announced the opening of its second datacentre in Silicon Valley.

This is the fourth new datacentre opened by AliCloud this year alone, and its ninth in total.Most of them are at various locations around China, but the company plans to extend its international footprint to other parts of Asia, as well as Europe and the Middle East before long.

This new Silicon Valley site will service the needs of west coast US customers, providing a bunch of cloud services such as: Elastic Compute, Analytic Database, Key-Value Store, Open Storage and Virtual Private Cloud.

“Our data centers are typically located in key innovation and commerce hubs around the world, where we expect growing demand for cost-efficient cloud computing and big data analytics services,” said Ethan Sicheng Yu, VP of AliCloud. “Our second U.S. data center is situated in Silicon Valley which is the epicentre for technology innovation world-wide.

“AliCloud is focused on building a comprehensive and holistic global ecosystem that offers world-class cloud computing and a nuanced understanding of local requirements. We expect to welcome more partners and customers onto the AliCloud platform as we extend our global reach and continue to deliver outstanding value for our cloud computing infrastructure services.”

Alibaba, AWS, Azure, Infrastructure as a Service, News & Analysis, NTT Com

NTT Com to provide private links to AWS, Azure

NTT Com is getting into the cloud interconnection service game

NTT Com is getting into the cloud interconnection service game

NTT Com has launched a multi-cloud connect service that will provide direct private links to leading public cloud providers’ infrastructure including Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure.

The Multi-Cloud Connect service, which is being pitched as an optional feature for NTT Com’s Arcstar Universal One, lets users access various public cloud services through its MPLS network.

The company, which already offers a range of cloud services under its own brand and through a range of subsidiaries, said that while a growing number of its customers are shifting workloads onto public cloud platforms variable network performance and cybersecurity are still inhibiting widespread adoption.

The Multi-Cloud Connect service will initially offer direct access to Microsoft Azure and AWS cloud platforms in Tokyo this week, followed by London later this year.

NTT Com is among a growing number of datacentre providers leveraging their network and real-estate for cloud interconnection services.

Earlier this Summer Equinix, an NTT Com competitor, added Alibaba to its cloud interconnection service, Cloud Exchange, which already boasts close to 100 cloud providers. In July BT redoubled its Cloud of Clouds initiative, which is already being deployed from about 20 facilities globally and a further 30 third-party datacentres operated by other cloud providers. And last year, Digital Realty announced a deal with Zayo enabling the datacentre operator offer low-latency connections to over 20 cloud platforms.

Alibaba, Aliyun, Big Data, developers, News & Analysis, Xiao Wei

Alibaba launches what it claims to be China’s first cloud AI platform

Aliyun has launched what it claims to be China's first AI platform

Aliyun has launched what it claims to be China’s first AI platform

Alibaba’s cloud computing division Aliyun has launched what it claims to be China’s first artificial intelligence cloud service.

The DT PAI platform has been built with a series of purpose-built algorithms and machine learning technologies designed to help users generate predictive intelligence insights. Aliyun said the service features “drag and drop” capabilities that let users easily connect different services and set parameters.

The company claims the platform is China’s first commercially available artificial intelligence platform.

“Our goal is to create a one-stop AI development, publishing and sharing platform through data calculations and data connections, all with the aim of using AI to drive innovation in all aspects of life,” said Xiao Wei, senior product expert, Aliyun.

“In the past, the field of artificial intelligence was only open to a very small number of qualified developers and required the use of specialised tools. Such an approach was prone to error and redundancy. Hoewver, DT PAI allows developers with little or no experience in the field to construct a data application from scratch in a much shorter period of time. What used to take days can be completed within minutes,” Wei added.

The platform is based on Aliyuns recently update big data cloud infrastructure and its Open Data Processing Service (ODPS).

Alibaba seems to be following IBM’s lead on when it comes to AI. Big Blue has been using Bluemix as a drag-and-drop platform for Watson, IBM’s cognitive compute (AI) as a service, pitching it as a more accessible development and delivery platform for its big data services.

Alibaba, Aliyun, Asia Pacific, Datacentre, Equinix, Infrastructure as a Service, Intel, Meeras, News & Analysis, PCCW, Singapore, Singtel

Alibaba to set up cloud datacentre, HQ in Singapore

Alibaba is adding a datacentre in Singapore, where it will also place its international HQ

Alibaba is adding a datacentre in Singapore, where it will also place its international HQ

Alibaba’s cloud computing division Aliyun revealed plans to set up a datacentre in Singapore, where it also plans to base its overseas business headquarters.

The Singapore datacentre, its seventh globally, will host the company’s growing suite of cloud services and link up with its existing datacentres in Beijing, Hangzhou, Qingdao, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Silicon Valley.

“The cloud datacentre in Singapore is a key milestone in our strategy to help businesses of all sizes innovate and scale, wherever they are based, and however they choose to grow,” said Sicheng Yu, vice president of Aliyun. “Aliyun offers a unique combination of services for success in the cloud, including high-volume cloud-based transaction support and quality assurance for cloud computing services.”

Singapore will also be home to the company’s international headquarters, where its global business outside of China will be managed.

Aliyun claims demand for its cloud services is growing at a whopping 82 per cent, with revenues from its cloud services more than doubling year on year. The company said it has over 1.8 million cloud customers as of June this year.

Last month Aliyun’s parent Alibaba announced plans to plough $1bn into its cloud computing division, which cloud give it the scale it needs to compete more effectively with the likes of Amazon and Google. In addition to the Singapore datacentre, which is scheduled to go live in September this year, the company also plans to add cloud datacentres in the Middle East, Japan, and in various countries in Europe as part of that investment.

At the time the company said it also plans to use the funds to expand its partnerships through its recently announced Marketplace Alliance Program, a move that sees it partnering with large tech and datacentre operators, initially including Intel, Singtel, Meeras, Equinix and PCCW among others to help localise its cloud computing services and grow its ecosystem.

Alibaba, Aliyun, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jian Wang, News & Analysis

Alibaba looks to quantum computing for next-gen cloud

Aliyun is looking at fostering quantum computing skills and technology, potentially for future applications in its cloud

Aliyun is looking at fostering quantum computing skills and technology, potentially for future applications in its cloud

Alibaba’s cloud computing unit Aliyun has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) that will see the two set up a quantum computing lab to study the technology’s applications in security, networking and cloud computing.

The lab will focus on experimenting with quantum theory in a bid to develop novel security technologies for e-commerce and datacentres (including, potentially, its own) and bolstering computing performance.

“The CAS – Alibaba Quantum Computing Laboratory will undertake frontier research on systems that appear the most promising in realizing the practical applications of quantum computing,” said Jianwei Pan, executive vice president of University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) and a CAS member.

“The laboratory will combine the technical advantages of Aliyun in classical calculation algorithms, structures and cloud computing with those of CAS in quantum computing, quantum analog computing and quantum artificial intelligence, so as to break the bottlenecks of Moore’s Law and classical computing,” Pan said.

The organisations said they want the lab to become a hub for international research in quantum computing and help create local talent in quantum computing.

Jian Wang, chief technology officer of Alibaba Group said: “This investment in the development and application of quantum computing reflects the scale and clarity of our long-term vision to collaborate with partners in an ecosystem model towards the sustained development of the economy and society.”

“New discoveries in information security and computing capacity based on quantum computing could be as significant in the future as big data technologies are today,” he added.

Quantum computing offers a number of benefits – the biggest being its theoretical ability to crunch eye-watering amounts of data extremely quickly, which means security monitoring and defence as well as big data and HPC are looking like the best applications for the technology so far. But quantum computing in practice is still quite nascent and confronted by a range of challenges – cost, lack of software, lack of commercial availability, lack of standards at the processor level are some of the biggest.

Alibaba, Aliyun, AWS, Daniel Zhang, Datacentre, Equinix, Google, IBM, Infrastructure as a Service, Intel, Meeras, News & Analysis, PCCW, Singtel

Alibaba takes aim at AWS, Google, Microsoft, pours $1bn into global cloud rollout

Alibaba is pouring $1bn into its cloud division to support global expansion

Alibaba is pouring $1bn into its cloud division to support global expansion

Alibaba announced plans this week to plough $1bn into its cloud computing division, Aliyun, in a bid to expand the company’s presence and establish new datacentres internationally. The move may give it the scale it needs to compete more effectively with the likes of Amazon and Google.

The company currently operates five datacentre in China and Hong Kong, and earlier this year set up a datacentre in Silicon Valley aimed at local startups and Chinese multinational corporations.

The $1bn in additional investment will go towards setting up new cloud datacentres in the Middle East, Singapore, Japan and in various countries across Europe.

“Aliyun has become a world-class cloud computing service platform that is the market leader in China, bearing the fruits of our investment over the past six years. As the physical and digital are becoming increasingly integrated, Aliyun will serve as an essential engine in this new economy,” said Daniel Zhang, chief executive officer of Alibaba Group.

“This additional US$ 1 billion investment is just the beginning; our hope is for Aliyun to continually empower customers and partners with new capabilities, and help companies upgrade their basic infrastructure. We want to enable businesses to connect directly with consumers and drive productivity using data. Ultimately, our goal is to help businesses successfully transition from an era of information technology to data technology,” Zhang said.

The company said it also plans to use the funds to expand its partnerships through its recently announced Marketplace Alliance Program, a move that sees it partnering with large tech and datacentre operators, initially including Intel, Singtel, Meeras, Equinix and PCCW among others to help localise its cloud computing services and grow its ecosystem.

The investment if anything confirms Alibaba’s intent to grow well beyond Asia and displace other large public cloud providers like AWS, IBM and Google, which already boast significant global scale.

Alibaba, Aliyun, Asia Pacific, Big Data, Datacentre, News & Analysis, Wensong Zhang

Alibaba to bolster cloud performance, proposes data protection pact

Alibaba is boosting the performance of its cloud services and reassuring customers on data protection

Alibaba is boosting the performance of its cloud services and reassuring customers on data protection

Alibaba unveiled a series of performance upgrades to its cloud platform this week in a bid to compete more effectively for big data workloads with other large cloud incumbents, and clarified its position on data protection.

The company said it is adding solid state drive (SSD) backed cloud storage, which will massively improve read-write performance over its existing HDD-based offerings, and virtual private cloud services (VPC) for high performance compute and analytics workloads. It’s also boosting performance with virtualised GPU-based technology.

“The huge amount of data and advanced computing capacity has brought great business opportunities to the industry,” said Wensong Zhang, chief technology officer of Aliyun, Alibaba’s cloud division.

“Deep learning and high-performance computing have been widely adopted in Alibaba Group for internal use. Aliyun will roll out high-performance computing services and accelerators based on GPU technology that could be applied in image recognition and deep learning to expand the boundaries of business,” Zhang said.

The company also released what it is calling a data protection pact. In its proposal Alibaba said customers will have “absolute ownership” over all of the data generated or sent to the company’s cloud services, and the “right to select whatever services they choose to securely process their data.”

It also said it would strengthen its threat protection and disaster recovery capabilities in order to reassure customers of its ability to guard their data – and the data of their clients. The company did not, however, cite any specific standards or internationally recognised guidelines on data protection in its plans.

“Without the self-discipline exercised by the banking industry, the financial and economic prosperity that exists in modern-day society would not have ensued. Similarly, without common consensus and concrete action dedicated to data protection, the future for the [data technology] economy would be dim,” the company said in a statement.

“We hereby promise to strictly abide by this pledge, and encourage the entire industry to collectively exercise the self-regulation that is vital in promoting the sustainable development of this data technology economy.”