中國高科技企業(yè)擬把云計算業(yè)務推向全球

Chinese tech companies are taking their cloud businesses global, as they chase opportunities abroad offered by the quickly growing international footprint of clients in their home market.

中國的高科技公司正在把他們的云計算業(yè)務推向全球。隨著本土市場客戶的國際足跡迅速增加，這些公司積極追逐由此帶來的機遇。

Tencent, Alibaba and Huawei have all announced big investments in cloud computing infrastructure overseas in the first half of 2017.

騰訊(Tencent)、阿里巴巴(Alibaba)和華為(Huawei)都在2017年上半年宣布對境外云計算基礎設施作出大筆投資。

The three made up the bulk of the 13 outward greenfield FDI projects worth $1.2bn announced by Chinese companies in data processing, hosting and related services between January and June, according to figures from fDi Markets, an FT data service.

英國《金融時報》旗下數(shù)據(jù)服務機構fDi Markets的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，在中國企業(yè)1月至6月期間宣布的總價值12億美元的13個數(shù)據(jù)處理、托管和相關服務對外綠地投資項目中，這三家公司占了大部分。

The figure is greater than any previous full year and makes China the world’s second-largest force for investment in data processing, hosting and related services. The US is far out in front with 46 announced projects for investments of more than $6.9bn, as Amazon, Google and Microsoft expand their global networks of data centres and cloud services.

這個數(shù)字大于以往任何一年的全年總數(shù)，并使中國在投資數(shù)據(jù)處理、托管和相關服務方面成為世界第二大主力軍。美國仍在這方面遙遙領先，宣布了46個投資項目，總價值69億美元。亞馬遜(Amazon)、谷歌(Google)和微軟(Microsoft)紛紛擴大其全球數(shù)據(jù)中心和云計算服務網(wǎng)絡。

Chinese tech groups are positioning to capitalise on the booming international business of other Chinese companies, whose total overseas investment reached a record $109.6bn in 2016, prompting Beijing to step in to prevent excessive capital flight.

中國科技集團正在積極布局，爭取獲益于其他中資企業(yè)蓬勃發(fā)展的國際業(yè)務，這些企業(yè)在2016年的對外投資總額達到創(chuàng)紀錄的1096億美元，促使北京方面介入，采取行動防范資本外逃。

After launching its first data centre outside mainland China in Hong Kong in 2014, Tencent — developer of WeChat, China’s most popular messaging app, and the country’s largest tech company, with a market capitalisation of $380bn at July 31 — has unveiled assertive plans to increase the global footprint of its cloud infrastructure.

2014年在香港推出首個境外數(shù)據(jù)中心的騰訊，已宣布雄心勃勃的計劃，擬增加其云計算基礎設施的全球足跡。騰訊是中國最流行的聊天應用微信(WeChat)的開發(fā)者，也是中國最大科技公司，其市值在7月31日達到3800億美元。

In April it opened a data centre in Silicon Valley, the first of five due to launch in 2017 to serve Chinese companies looking to go overseas and international companies expanding their businesses in China and other parts of the world.

4月，騰訊在硅谷啟用一個數(shù)據(jù)中心，這是該公司計劃在2017年推出的五個境外數(shù)據(jù)中心中的第一個，目的是服務于謀求境外擴張的中資企業(yè)以及希望在中國和世界其他地區(qū)拓展業(yè)務的國際企業(yè)。

A second followed in Frankfurt in July. Others are planned for Mumbai, Seoul and Moscow.

7月，位于法蘭克福的第二個數(shù)據(jù)中心啟用。其他數(shù)據(jù)中心將分別位于孟買、首爾和莫斯科。

Tencent already had three such overseas facilities (Hong Kong, Singapore and Toronto) and more than a dozen in China. Its revenues from cloud services tripled in 2016, according to last year’s annual report, making up 10 per cent of total revenues.

騰訊已經有三個這樣的境外設施(香港、新加坡和多倫多)，在中國境內還有10多個。根據(jù)去年的年度報告，該公司2016年的云服務營收增長兩倍，占總營收的10%。

Jack Ma’s Alibaba has announced four new data centres in Asia this year — two in Mumbai, one in Jakarta and another in an unspecified location in Malaysia — bringing the company’s total to 17. It has also doubled the capacity of its existing facility in Hong Kong.

馬云(Jack Ma)的阿里巴巴宣布今年在亞洲啟用四個新的數(shù)據(jù)中心，其中兩個在孟買，一個在雅加達，另一個位于馬來西亞某地，將該公司的數(shù)據(jù)中心總數(shù)增至17個。該公司還將其香港現(xiàn)有設施的容量翻番。

Alibaba Cloud’s revenues increased 121 per cent in the fiscal year ending in March, according to company accounts, making up 4 per cent of the group’s total revenues in the year.

根據(jù)公司賬目，在截至3月的這一財年，阿里云(Alibaba Cloud)的營收增長121%，占集團總營收的4%。

“Alibaba and Tencent need huge data centre networks to operate their own businesses, and each has also used those networks to offer cloud services to external clients — much like Amazon, Microsoft and Google have done,” said John Dinsdale, chief analyst at IT and cloud market intelligence firm Synergy Research Group.

“阿里巴巴和騰訊需要龐大的數(shù)據(jù)中心網(wǎng)絡來運營它們自己的業(yè)務，同時也都利用這些網(wǎng)絡向外部客戶提供云計算服務，就像亞馬遜、微軟和谷歌在做的那樣，”信息技術和云計算市場情報公司Synergy Research Group的首席分析師約翰•丁斯代爾(John Dinsdale)表示。

“Credibility and security will certainly be issues as they try to make that transition and a lot will ride on their record and perceived success over the first few quarters,” he added.

“在它們做出這種轉型之際，可信度和安全肯定會成為問題，它們的表現(xiàn)以及它們在最初幾個季度給人留下的成功印象將關系重大，”他補充說。

Huawei is also strengthening its cloud division despite running a very different business, focused on providing hard and soft telecommunications infrastructure to telecoms services providers and others.

盡管業(yè)務非常不同，但華為也在加強其云計算部門，重點是為電信服務提供商等企業(yè)提供電信基礎設施的硬件和軟件。

The company unveiled a new data centre in New Zealand at the beginning of the year and said it would spin off its cloud business to give it a clear dimension within the group. It plans to invest $1bn in the business over the next few years.

該公司今年初在新西蘭推出一個新的數(shù)據(jù)中心，并表示將分拆云計算業(yè)務，使其在集團內部有一個明確維度。華為計劃在未來幾年向這塊業(yè)務投資10億美元。

Jacopo Dettoni is deputy editor of fDi Magazine, an FT publication.

雅各布•德托尼(Jacopo Dettoni)是英國《金融時報》出版物《fDi》雜志的副主編