Huawei SWOT Analysis for the Innovation - Essay Example

Huawei and its ICT Enables Innovation and Development Huawei is one of the global leaders in providing information and communication technology (ICT) based solutions. The use of ICT in various fields has brought about a revolution in the services available to everyone at a macro level. ICT has enabled innovation and creativeness in the field of education and learning as well. However, the most significant impact of ICT has been the large-scale availability of goods and services to clients across all sectors in most countries of the world, thereby, minimizing the digital divide and barriers to growth and development. The increasing demands of customers for better quality of life and better quality of goods and services has forced the multi-national conglomerates to innovate and devise newer ways of increasing market size (Creative Trainer, 2012). There is also tremendous competition at the international forum and rapid technological advancements provide the opportunity to companies to cater to the needs of the customers better. The thrust on developing newer and more sustainable products keeping in view the delicate ecological balance and environment protection standards has motivated companies to discover and better manage new technologies to match all the requirements. Huawei, like many other telecommunication service providers, wants to enhance their processes and services to be able to increase their market share and take advantage of the current opportunities available. Their latest venture is to introduce superfast mobile broadband services across the UK and create a niche position for themselves (Huawei.com, 2012). This is corroborated by Victor Zhang, the Chief Executive, Huawei, UK, “As a leader in deploying national broadband networks and the technology that supports them, our long-term commitment is to improve the efficiency speed and capacity of both fixed and mobile networks. This commitment can be illustrated by our recent £1.3bn investment into the UK, of which a considerable proportion will be used to deliver superfast broadband connections and services.” The potential benefits of this technology will reach not only the telecom and industry sectors but will touch the lives of the common people by making broadband internet available even to the remote villages of UK at competitive prices. This move will strengthen the telecom infrastructure and benefit even the engineering sector in the long run, though the benefits to these may not be visible immediately. The impact will be similar to that of the transition from dial up to broadband system of connectivity. McKinsey, a research consultancy, has pointed out that internet linked services account for over 5% of UK’s GDP. They have also researched and found out that for every job that it has displaced 2.6 new jobs have been created (The Economist, 2012). Hence, an efficient broadband will improve the internet linked services and help in creating more jobs for people in UK. Superfast mobile broadband promises smooth connectivity that will help re-engineer several other related services. This venture intends to boost the job market in the future but its immediate impact may not be felt immediately. The more immediate benefit will be more jobs in the engineering sector to increase the network building process. Healthcare and education are some of the sectors that will be benefitted significantly by the superfast broadband connectivity (The Economist, 2012). It will help in the evolution of processes, systems and skill sets existing at the current moment. Telemedicine and remote diagnostic facilities will receive a much needed impetus. The constraints of bandwidth will be reduced and that will result in the use of technological resources optimally. Access to superfast internet for everyone including the elderly and rural population will benefit society as a whole. The following table contains a SWOT analysis for the innovation of developing superfast mobile broadband network across UK. The Huawei initiative has been used as an example (Analysys Mason, 2012). SWOT analysis is used to identify potential and existing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (Mindtools.com, 1960). It creates awareness of the opportunities that can be tapped into to develop the business further. It also makes you conscious of the potential pitfalls and prepare yourself better to cope with difficulties as and when they arise. In a business context this methodology helps the company to create a unique position for itself and be able to sustain that position in the market place. Strengths Weaknesses Huawei is capitalizing on its current demand and increasing market share which is creating the base for future expansion and consolidation in this field. The venture was conceived with a focus on current technological trends that demand greater bandwidth. This venture will provide a sophisticated product backed with customer service facilities. This model will help every enterprise that provides services or goods to the public. The project will be built on a sustainable and scalable model. Huaweis venture targets infrastructure and this will help develop essential services like healthcare, education, transport, etc. further. Shortage of digital skills to match the developments of technology. Investment by companies to upgrade their tools, systems and processes to optimize on this technology. The impact of the superfast broadband will far exceed the long term benefits versus the short term benefits. Opportunities Threats The superfast broadband connections will bring remote locations, villages, etc. at par with the urban development in technological field. All agencies whether government or private need an interface to interact with the customers directly or indirectly. This service will help in providing that interface. This will also have a positive impact on the job market as it will help create more jobs for people in both urban and rural areas. This will also enhance UKs market competitiveness and will help reenergize UKs market and economy. The up-gradation in technology may not happen across all industries and sectors at the same pace. The economic slump of the last few years may impact investments and stall the technology up-gradations. The government or other public service providing agencies may want to step in with greater regulations which may impact demand for investments. This innovation is in the form of an upgrade to an existing technology that will create a greater impact and benefit society manifold. It involves broadband technology at superfast speeds of up to 24Mbps by 2015 which is almost three times the present speeds. This will help business conglomerates as well as private individuals who depend heavily on the internet for their day to day transactions. The demand for greater speeds and better accessibility for users across UK has been the driver for this innovation. The strategy behind this innovation was to create the market in UK and then supply the hardware needed to support the services. This can be attributed to demand pull as well as push from the advancements in 4G technology. Huaweis innovation can be categorised as a product, service and technology. It involves the use of a smartphone, mobile Wi-Fi hub and broadband dongle for accessibility and use. This innovation was conceived primarily to benefit the telecom industry and the public in general. However, it finds application in all other sectors involved in providing goods and services to the citizens. This innovation is to provide the latest technology all over UK and it’s a pioneer product/service it will find a ready market. This will benefit industries and also make life easier for the common people as a large part of our lives depend on technology. The environment dictated the introduction of this technology in UK which was to provide an always-on broadband internet access to businesses and individuals in our present information age. It has been envisaged to create a positive social and economic impact on the society. Huawei has been a front runner in the use and spread of national broadband networks and their support technology. However, this innovation is aimed at increasing efficiency, speed and capacity of fixed as well as mobile networks. The £1.3bn or US $ 2bn investment in the UK will be used to provide superfast broadband network, connection and services to all the citizens (Business Financial Post, 2012). The contribution of technology is the most significant towards this innovation. However, the process of incorporating the superfast broadband in the various sectors will require the involvement of people at a country-wide scale and an equivalent up-gradation in their processes and skill sets to be able to employ this innovation to its optimum best. The investment plan of Huawei is spread out over the next five years (Kctv5.com, 2012). This step will help in securing new markets and present a competitive advantage against other ICT service providers. It has chosen to partner with other private and multinational agencies as well as enlist the support of public organizations in promoting and establishing the broadband network across the UK (Prnewswire.com, 2012). This innovation aims to harness the entire population of UK as a market base. This involves a certain level of creativity at every step from introduction to implementation to feedback from the clients about the technology in the business processes of every organization using the superfast mobile broadband technology. The peri-commercial components of this innovative venture has played a massive role in the formulation of the strategy towards the introducing whole of Britain to superfast mobile broadband connections. This business venture is inclined towards the involvement of the entire society in the path of growth and development. The plan is to bridge the digital divide and ensure the same benefits reach the lesser privileged or people in rural settings as that reaching the urban rich. ICT completes the feedback loop in the line of production of public goods and services. This ensures that the voice of every user is available for consideration when conceptualising or implementing policies to benefit the public. It is just as necessary to note that the use of superfast broadband, other than creating more than 1500 jobs, will also ensure better resource mobilization and resource utilization with greater network and collaboration between similarly placed or related industries. This means that resource wastage is minimized. The sustainability of this technology is the most impressive aspect, since this step ensures a captive market for many years to come. If this launch becomes a success it can be replicated in other environments as well. The aim is to reach a future of an interconnected world with zero digital divide and global parity. Huawei may just be the company to have conceived of a bright and unified globe. References Analysys Mason (2012) M2M Management Software. [online] Available at: http://www.bosch-si.com/fileadmin/pdf/analysten/201210_Analysys_Mason_M2M_supplier_review_extract.pdf [Accessed: 10 Nov 2012]. Business.financialpost.com (2012) Huawei plans US$2-billion British expansion | FP Tech Desk | Financial Post. [online] Available at: http://business.financialpost.com/2012/09/11/huawei-plans-us2-billion-british-expansion/ [Accessed: 10 Nov 2012]. Creative Trainer (2012) Innovation Management. [online] Available at: http://www.creative-trainer.eu/fileadmin/template/download/Module_Innovation_Management_EN_.pdf [Accessed: 10 Nov 2012]. Huawei.com (2012) Superfast Broadband Essential to Long-Term Competitiveness of UK Economy. [online] Available at: http://www.huawei.com/en/about-huawei/newsroom/press-release/hw-195831-broadbandeconomist.htm [Accessed: 10 Nov 2012]. Kctv5.com (2012) The Huawei Report 2012-2017: Securing New Markets and Gaining Competitive Advantage in the LTE Domain - KCTV5. [online] Available at: http://www.kctv5.com/story/20044153/the-huawei-report-2012-2017-securing-new-markets-and-gaining-competitive-advantage-in-the-lte-domain [Accessed: 10 Nov 2012]. Mindtools.com (1960) SWOT Analysis - Strategy Tools from MindTools.com. [online] Available at: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_05.htm [Accessed: 10 Nov 2012]. Prnewswire.com (2012) The Huawei Report 2012-2017: Securing New Markets and Gaining Competitive Advantage in... -- NEW YORK, Nov. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --. [online] Available at: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-huawei-report-2012-2017-securing-new-markets-and-gaining-competitive-advantage-in-the-lte-domain-177912091.html [Accessed: 10 Nov 2012]. Economist Intelligence Unit. (2012) Superfast Britain? Myths and realities about the UKs broadband future. [e-book] The Economist. p.11-14. Available through: Huawei.com http://www.huawei.com/ilink/en/download/HW_195871 [Accessed: 10 Nov 2012]. Read More