Getting up to speed on emerging technologies and innovations, evolving customer demands and the rapidly transforming global digital economy are crucial for businesses to remain relevant and competitive in this day and age. In this connection, CITIC Telecom CPC’s Solutions Day 2023 is a major event of the year where ecosystem partners across the ICT industries discuss and contribute new ideas towards this common interest.

In this year’s edition – themed “Sparkling Biz Matters” – the big question of “What matters your business most?” is front and centre. Brook Wong, CEO, CITIC Telecom CPC, jumpstarts the event by highlighting the need for companies to realize digital transformation in 2023: “The Solutions Day has long been a significant event in the ICT industry and with most of the Covid-19 restrictions now lifted in Hong Kong, we will continue to bring together technology leaders and our ecosystem partners by collectively addressing key challenges and finding opportunities to accelerate digital transformations for enterprises.”

That technology is changing the way we live and do business is an indisputable fact confronting all of us. “From improved communication within an organization and a wider reach, to greater efficiency and sustainability – business can benefit from digital transformation with the right technology in place,” Edward Chui, Director, Hong Kong, of Economist Intelligence Corporate Network, says in his keynote address “Digital Innovation in Asia Pacific”.

A strategic approach to digital transformation

This year’s Solutions Day comes complete with a series of panel discussions that exchange insights and thought-provoking ideas among technology leaders and senior executives from leading companies that have been swift in adopting game-changing technologies. First off is a panel sharing on how companies ought to focus on digital technologies to build agility and speed, diving deep into the precise challenges facing businesses today.

In a session titled “Intelligence+ Empowers Biz Innovations”, moderator Stanley Sum – Partner, Advisory, Hong Kong (SAR), KPMG China – remarks that as business dynamic changes, so does the development of workflow: “Linear approach is insufficient to satisfy demands, so getting agile is key to taking advantage of the opportunities provided by emerging technologies.”

For one, delivering products at speed is now more important than ever. Henry Hui, Director, Technology, McDonald’s Hong Kong, makes the case for McDonald’s App to enhance efficiency and customer experience during high-traffic lunchtime. “Given the surging number of orders coming into our system in this period of the day, there is a need to scale up technologies for greater application, upgrading it to a controllable level so we can deliver hot food to customers,” Hui explains.

As more and more companies venture into new categories and make emerging technologies an integrated part of their workflow, risk-taking is inevitable, which is why a strategic approach to digital transformation is paramount. “By using artificial intelligence to test prototypes iteratively, companies can identify the risk of errors earlier in a linear development process, saving development costs,” observes Ivan Lee, Vice President, Information Technology Services & Data Science, CITIC Telecom CPC.

While connecting data through a digital hub is commonplace today, organizations also have to grapple with the challenges of cybersecurity. Kev Hau, Cyber Security Evangelist, a member of the CTO office, Check Point Software Technologies Ltd., points to the necessity of creating a cybersecurity ecosystem to prevent as many malicious activities as possible: “More than ever, businesses must manage cyber threats with advanced technology and solutions – blockchain being one of the options.”

Dr. Paul Sin, Director – Technology & Transformation, New World Development Company Limited, concurs, citing the example of the Group’s tailor-made services in China that make use of facial recognition technology. “With facial recognition becoming much more prevalent, protecting sensitive customer data becomes even more crucial. So technological innovations are not just for creating values for shareholders and scaling up the business for higher returns, but also building trust within the society,” Dr. Sin says.

Embracing the next-level cloud

While organizations increasingly invest in technologies to operate more effectively in a digital economy, cloud has taken on an indispensable role; many more corporations are making use of this means to store and access information anytime, anywhere.

Moderator Sheila Lam – Editorial Consultant, Ignite Content Marketing – opens the second session “Securing Multi-Cloud to Unlock Intelligent Business” by saying that cloud computing is an essential part of an organization’s digital transformation: “By integrating the right cloud technology, businesses will be able to meet their customers wherever they are.”

Privately owned Hong Kong developer Chinachem, for instance, engages public and private clouds to open up business opportunities. With its widespread user applications, Ben Fung, General Manager, IT and Solutions, Chinachem Group, says selecting clouds fit for a business has a prerequisite: “Companies need to think about the purpose of data usage and ask the right questions from the get-go to utilize the capabilities of clouds – whether they are using clouds as services or products.”

For Emperor Group, which owns a diverse portfolio of businesses, moving to the cloud is a means for addressing various business needs. These include aligning with where customers are based and leveraging the applications that are native to the cloud. “There are many different clouds and data centers available, and the right choice can reap the benefits of scaling up business in a short time,” adds Leo Tsang, Group Chief Information Officer, Emperor Group.

As companies make way for clouds, the process itself hasn’t come without challenges, one of which is keeping multiple clouds consistent across the company and across different business lines, as noted by Francis Lee, Executive VP, Product Marketing, Green Radar (Hong Kong) Limited. “Within the organization, we need to deliver a message so that all concerned are aware of the application of multi-clouds, and the security issues they bring, especially when staffers access services via multi-clouds while working from home,” Lee says.

Tsang chimes in, saying when it comes to securing multiple clouds, there are also the considerations of lining up different configurations, and that all employees should be aware of the presence and applications of multiple clouds.

Indeed, upskilling and educating the teams is vital as far as adopting cloud technologies is concerned. “We are not born into the cloud so the challenges are in having to maintain our old businesses, all the while drastically reforming our company with the right talents. That is how we can stay current with emerging technologies,” Raymond Lee, Chief Technology Strategist, Li Tong Group, says while outlining the difficulties of transforming his teams in the age of digital disruption.

To say businesses are thriving in unprecedented times is certainly no overstatement, and if there’s one thing CITIC Telecom CPC’s Solutions Day 2023 has shown us, it’s that keeping abreast of the latest trends, understanding your teams’ readiness to adopt innovative technologies and knowing what works in your company are key to navigating the way forward.