Over 200 government officials, technology experts, scholars, and representatives from tech companies gathered today from all across the Asia-Pacific region for the third annual Huawei Asia-Pacific Innovation Day, held in Kuala Lumpur. The event was co-hosted by Malaysia’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), the Malaysia-China Business Council, and Huawei Technologies.
This year’s event focused on fostering digital economy in the APAC region, with special focus on digital transformation models for emerging markets, small- and medium-sized enterprises, and core industries like services and tourism. At the event, Huawei announced the construction of a new OpenLab in Malaysia, which will serve as an open, flexible, and secure platform for joint innovation with local partners. Huawei has built similar OpenLabs in Munich, Mexico, Dubai, Singapore, and China. Together, these labs support extensive cooperation between Huawei and over 400 solution partners globally.
At the event, Huawei’s Deputy Chairman of the Board and Rotating CEO, Guo Ping, spoke about the different stages of digital transformation, and what countries can focus on at each stage of development. “We’ve all heard about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs,” said Guo. “When a country goes digital, they experience a similar evolution of needs. I would divide this hierarchy into four layers. The first is ICT infrastructure, which is the foundation of a digital economy. The second is security, for both the physical and digital worlds. Security is necessary for further development. The third layer is developing a supportive environment for industries to go digital. Building on a solid foundation of privacy protection, the fourth and highest layer is enabling broader information sharing. More data will help cities and national governments better manage the digitization process, ultimately promoting safer cities and smarter countries. “
