Alibaba partners with Salesforce
Alibaba and US software company Salesforce have announced a partnership to provide customer services in China exclusively through Alibaba Cloud.
At the Alibaba Cloud Summit in Shanghai, Alibaba said it had also upgraded its cloud and intelligence services for government agencies to boost smart urban governance by including more artificial intelligence capabilities in its service offerings.
Market intelligence firm IDC said in a research report that IT vendors' revenue from the cloud segment has surpassed the traditional IT infrastructure segment, and companies are expected to shift from traditional IT infrastructure to cloud services, providing a further boost to cloud services providers.
Xu Shijun, president of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group's digital government services unit, said it already works with 442 cities by offering more than 1,000 types of services for residents.
It's also working with technology and data solution vendors, including Aisino Corp, Enjoyor Co Ltd, and Linewell Software Group in providing smart urban management and government services.
Ma Jin, vice president of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group and president of its product and solution division, said Southeast Asia will be the key region for its overseas expansion this year as local mobile Internet services are picking up rapidly especially among young consumers and it is to pour more resources into optimizing its user interface and product catalog for overseas customers.
It will also put more resources into the retail industry this year, apart from strengthening collaboration with government institutions, as Alibaba Cloud is already providing technology support for the e-commerce giant's online retailing businesses. Retailers and manufacturers are also working with a number of business units within e-commerce such as payment, logistics and online market places.
In November, Alibaba Cloud reorganized to include data intelligence divisions, technology middle offices as well as research arm Damo Academy.
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