Overtaking is (almost) reality. Huawei, the Chinese hi-tech jewel, is one step away from Ericsson, the world leader in telecom equipment. Indeed, in truth, the historic overtaking took place on Monday when the data for the first half of the Chinese group were communicated from Shenzhen: Huawei's turnover rose to 16,2 billion dollars (+5,2%), bucking the market trend. Last week, however, the Swedish Ericsson had announced a turnover of 15,2 billion dollars, down on the previous year and below the results of the Chinese competitor which, however, to make the comparison homogeneous, sales go of the retail division, as the men of the Asian group themselves recognize.
Sportsmanship, moreover, is an almost unprecedented aspect of the competition between the two big players, despite the importance of what is at stake. "When rumors arose about an alleged EU investigation into alleged state aid in our favor, Ericsson declared itself extraneous to and against the initiative that does not come from industry", comments Roberto Loiola, vice president Western Europe and chief operating officer Italy and Switzerland, on the occasion of the launch of the latest Huawei smartphone in Milan: the Ascend P1, 449 euros, a very thin device but with an almost inexhaustible battery (at least 2 days of autonomy), high definition screen and audio, but absolutely competitive price with the competition. Because even in smartphones Huawei has now risen to Olympus, in third place overall behind Apple and Samsung. In short, Huawei has now established itself as a brand with three heads: telecom equipment, consumer and enterprise (business services). But the challenge, as Loiola, a 47-year-old Roman, explains to us, with a long career behind him first in Telecom Italia, then in Nokia (of which he was vice president for southern Europe), is just beginning. And it also concerns Italy.
Engineer Loiola, the first thing that comes to mind with a smartphone like this in hand is that it's nice to have a Ferrari. But unfortunately there is still no highway…
“2012, for Italy, is a year of preparation. The auctions for the frequencies have been held, today the operators are gearing up. As far as we're concerned, Huawei has already built 38 ultra-fast LTE networks, from Japan to Australia to Canada. There are already over 200 million 4G customers served by our LTE networks."
And who do you supply in Italy?
“We support the preparation of three out of four managers. The only one you don't use from us is the one owned by China”.
Is the program progressing on schedule?
“The commitment is there, on everyone's part. It is important that the program speed up, also to give a jolt to the economy. There are technical difficulties to overcome, linked to interference with digital terrestrial, but insurmountable coins. We too contributed with a trial test in Rome in collaboration with the Ministry".
What about fixed networks?
“We collaborate with both Telecom Italia and Metroweb. I hope that in the end a great Italian project will take shape".
Is Italy a promising market?
“It is currently the third market in Europe for Huawei, preceded by Spain and the United Kingdom, thanks to the historic relationship with Telefonica and Vodafone. I hope that Italy can conquer the first position. There is a lot to do in this country both with companies and with the Public Administration. As well as, of course, with private customers”.
Shall we try to tell Huawei in numbers?
“It is a group that employs 140 people, 44% engaged in research and development. It was born in 1987 in Shenzhen, near Hong Kong, and developed in parallel with the University of Shenzhen, the Chinese Silicon Valley where the Huawei campus now employs 60 thousand employees. Since the 60s, the company has focused its strategy on international growth, to the extent that it now sells between 70 and 40 percent of its products and services outside Greater China. XNUMX employees work in Shanghai, all in the cloud. It is no coincidence that a small data center is enough to contain the information. To underline the difference, a much larger empty space was left: this is what would have been needed for a traditional data center”.
In short, Huawei has the innovative characteristics of a traditional, Western-style start-up. Or not?
“As far as governance is concerned, from my experience, I don't see any significant differences, except for a great propensity to build a truly international team, suited to a global culture. With an important novelty: the position of CEO is assigned on a temporary basis among the top managers of the board. In this way decisions are shared and the margin of error is reduced”.
The picture emerges of a dynamic and aggressive company, strongly rooted in the Asian world.
“But with a strong openness to the world. Of course, we are proud to have created the world's leading cloud data center for China Mobile. But in Amsterdam we have a room for Telepresence, i.e. video communication, among the most advanced in the world. And we will soon repeat in Italy”.
What is the presence in the Bel Paese?
“By the end of the year we will reach 700 employees. The IP microwave will operate in Milan, i.e. the development of microwave networks as an alternative to traditional transmission links. However, most of them work in the commercial and after-sales sector. Even if one thing must be said”.
That?
“The tests on the failure rates of our products are downright embarrassing: Huawei products never break”.
Meanwhile, however, torpedoes arrive from the US and the EU: Beijing's espionage company, helped to penetrate the meshes of the West...
“As far as cyber security is concerned, the EU allegations have so far only been brought against us in the press. Huawei invests heavily in technologies to protect customer and partner data. For the rest, I would say that, in terms of protecting the internal market from competition, the USA is second to none".
