Taiwan’s cloud computing industry could be driven by the nation’s competitive advantages resulting from its geographic location, undersea cable construction and hardware manufacturing capability, an industry analyst said yesterday.
However, the government should focus more on improving the value of the industry because the country currently relies heavily on providing ODM server services, which provide marginal profits, said Barry Chen (陳學智), president of global virtualization and cloud infrastructure services at VMware Inc.
Instead of looking for ways to lower electricity prices and facility management costs, the government and companies should cooperate to develop new platforms to provide integrated services via cloud computing technologies with an aim to increasing the country’s competitiveness, Chen said.
For example, the Shanghai Stock Exchange center has vigorously promoted these technologies, with the hope of becoming the world’s largest center of its kind within 10 years, Chen said.
Airlines are adopting cloud computing technologies to provide customized services, which is an indicator of future trends for the logistics and financial sectors, he said.
Chen said that although Taiwan has a natural geographical advantage, the government should introduce policies designed to lure foreign investors, adding that investors often choose Singapore as a service hub rather than Taiwan.
Minister without Portfolio Simon Chang (張善政), a former Google Inc executive, said earlier this month that he would focus on the upgrade of the nation’s information technology and communications industry.
Chang said he would assist the promotion of cloud computing technologies throughout Taiwan, adding that such technologies could also be used for education, medical services, healthcare and other services to reduce public grievances and win greater public trust in the government’s administrative abilities.
However, Acer Inc (宏碁) chairman J.T. Wang (王振堂) said on Friday he disapproved of the government’s policy to encourage businesses to establish cloud-based data centers through out the nation.
Wang said cloud-based data centers usually consume large amounts of electricity, have high levels of carbon emissions and do not help promote the development of the cloud computing industry.
It is more important to develop cloud-based applications that meet people’s every day needs, Wang said.
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
RSS