(L-R) Dato’ Sri Desmond To, Founder of Aladdin Group; Mr Eizaz Azhar, CEO of Aladdin Group; Mr. Lim Chee Siong, Huawei Malaysia Vice President of Cloud and AI; Mr Michael Yuan, CEO of Huawei Malaysia, at the MoU signing ceremony
[KUALA LUMPUR, DECEMBER 2, 2020] Huawei Technologies (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (Huawei) and Aladdin Group (Aladdin Group) formalised a technology collaboration through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). Through this collaboration, both parties will jointly develop and establish a technology service network for the purpose of creating a global Halal-focused social commerce platform.It also aims to accelerate growth for all stakeholders involved in the Halal and Muslim-friendly products and services sector, leveraging Huawei’s innovative technology solutions, such as Cloud and Artificial Intelligence (AI), to ensure competitiveness and sustainability.
Signing the MoU on behalf of Huawei was Huawei Malaysia Vice President of Cloud and AI Mr. Lim Chee Siong, with Mr Michael Yuan, CEO of Huawei Malaysia acting as witness; while Aladdin Group’s Chief Executive Officer Mr Eizaz Azhar signed on behalf of Aladdin Group, with Dato’ Sri Desmond To, Founder of Aladdin Group acting as witness.
As a technology company specialising in the Halal and Muslim-friendly segment, Aladdin Group functions as an enabler for producers to access the Muslim consumer marketspace.
The company is among the first dedicated social commerce companies for the Halal consumer market, combining the latest retail technology with strong governance and product assurance.
This unique synergy of capabilities between Huawei and Aladdin Group leverages Huawei’s deep expertise and knowledge in digital infrastructure to enhance Aladdin Group’s own technological capabilities and ensure its customers a seamless experience on its platform.
The enhancement of technological capabilities will also allow Aladdin Group’s affiliates and strategic partners around the world to consolidate their technology and come together as a powerful enabler to support Aladdin Group’s expansion plans in 40 countries by 2022, serving an over 5 billion population of which 1.45 billion are Muslims.
Mr. Eizaz Azhar said that Huawei and Aladdin Group’s coming together represents a “formidable combination of forces”, which will not only deliver greater value for Aladdin Group’s stakeholders, ensure operational excellence and give rise to transformative enterprise and digital solutions through the group’s platforms, but will also help drive Malaysia’s growth in the Halal economy.
“Aladdin Group is pleased to showcase the progress we have made since we came back in action after our restructuring. We have plans to create tremendous impact in the market, and through this collaboration we are on path to unlock the full potential of digital transformation within the industry, placing us on the best path for success in the business landscape of today’s new normal,” Mr. Eizaz said. “We believe this partnership further enables SMEs within the Halal sector to make available their products and services leveraging on Aladdin’s global network,” he added.
Mr. Lim Chee Siong said that this collaboration is a valuable opportunity for Huawei to venture further into the Halal industry. “Malaysia is already very well positioned to be a Digital Capital in the region and is also one of the leaders in the global Halal industry. By digitally transforming the Halal sector, we will further solidify the country’s standing, not only as the Heart of Digital ASEAN, but also as an ASEAN Islamic Hub and an ASEAN AI Hub. Therefore, we are very grateful to be part of this work and for this opportunity to lend our capabilities in this pioneering effort to develop technology solutions for the Halal sector on a global scale,” he said.
This collaboration, he added, will allow Huawei to showcase its expertise in the areas of AI, Cloud Computing, Blockchain and Big Data. “Together, these technologies enable innovation, introduce new revenue opportunities and drive cost efficiencies – creating greater value for businesses like Aladdin Group and Malaysia’s digital economy as a whole,” he said.
Mr Lim stated that as a global leader in Cloud and AI with over 30 years of research and innovation in this space, Huawei has leveraged these technologies to transform industries over the world. “We are therefore, well positioned to help companies like Aladdin Group, expand and transform its digital services.”
Through the collaboration, Huawei and Aladdin Group will work closely to develop the following areas:
- Cloud service: Aladdin Group will leverage Huawei’s expertise in Cloud services and infrastructure to build its platform with ease. Huawei’s deep knowledge in Cloud technology which spans over 30 years, provides the assurance of stability, security, reliability and sustainability in Cloud services, to help the Aladdin Group grow in the intelligent world.
- Big Data service: Aladdin Group will leverage Huawei’s intelligent data solutions for Big Data integration, storage, search and analysis. Powered by AI, Huawei’s solutions will enable the Aladdin Group’s platform to process massive volumes of data, as well as capture opportunities and discover risks through data mining and analytics – both in real-time and non-real-time.
- Blockchain service: Huawei CLOUD’s Blockchain Service (BCS) will allow the Aladdin Group to conveniently create, deploy and manage applications with optimum performance and cost-effectiveness.
- AI service: Huawei will help Aladdin Group build AI-based clustering and interpreting of consumer data, including profile and demographic information. The AI-based system will continually adapt to Aladdin Group’s customer preferences and respond with tailor-made recommendations in real-time.
The Aladdin Group recently announced their return as a tech company, after nearly a year of operational hiatus and rebranding.
In announcing its return in August this year, the group said that while it will continue its focus on the Halal sector and Muslim-friendly segment, it will now pivot towards leveraging Malaysian talents.
