$200 million to be invested in Huawei's cloud developer programme launching six new products

Huawei has seen its hardware unit sales stagnate recently and has therefore decided to invest in its developer programme as it takes on Amazon, Google and Alibaba, by launching six new cloud products. Launched at their three-day developer conference in Shenzhe, which for this year, focused on cloud, AI and open source, Huawei's new products include databases, AI programming assistants, computing services and infrastructure software. Along with the six new products, Huawei has announced that it will invest $200m in its developer programme which will boost its cloud services and ecosystem software.

Huawei's cloud investments have meant that in 2020, revenues were up 168%, but this jump means they are still far behind Amazon and Alibaba and this new investment will mean they will close the gap. Alibaba has a 40% share of the cloud sector in China, with Huawei Cloud in second position with a 17.4% share.

Richard Yu Chengdong, executive director of Huawei said, "By 2025, 100% of enterprises around the globe will be utilising cloud technology. Cloud is the future of the ICT industry and the foundation for enterprises digital transformation. Developers are the soul of the industry."

2020 has been a difficult year for Huawei, with their hardware unit struggling due to US sanctions imposed on it, with its 5G equipment and services making news both in the UK and USA, revolving around security fears. Also their smart phones sales have been badly hit. Western customers, wanting to get the most out of their smart phones, have not been able to use Google services on their Mate and P series handsets and that alone has put customers off from buying them.

Huawei has been working on rolling out its own handset operating system, pivoting around Harmony OS from an IoT-focused platform to an operating system that can work on their high-end smartphones. Although predicted to be launched in the coming weeks, this new operating system is far from being an Android competitor.