Edge to glocalization: The business of criticality in the real-time economy

The proliferation of 5G edge computing is driving the greater need for real-time processing, better user-experience and data intelligence. Capacity heard from Cliff Tam, VP of global data strategy, International Business, HGC Global Communications, about the new real-time economy and digital glocalization.

Gaming is viewed as one of the booming use cases from edge, and the Southeast Asia Gaming market is expected to register a CAGR of over 8.5% between 2021 and 2025. As a technology fast mover, HGC unlocks the full value of critical international and edge network infrastructure and ICT capabilities for enterprises and OTTs’ “Glocalization” at a fast-to-market pace with new mechanisms.

As we move to the idea of speed of thought, what is the telcos’ role in this new real-time economy?

Ultra-low latency is key to edge infrastructure development. This is where computing at the speed of thought is key to customer satisfaction and experience, which leads to superior brand results. For telcos, the gameplay has changed to an environment that they must lead ahead to create a game-changing infrastructure and ICT technology ecosystem by collaborating with OTTs, hyperscalers, colocation providers, and others, to adapt to the proliferation of advanced applications such as 5G, M2M communications, IoT and even Extended Reality (XR). Moreover, creating a frictionless seamless experience from full automation all the way to orchestration utilising blockchain technology and API can streamline business processes.

How much pressure does edge computing put-on telcos and how does HGC navigate these trends?

Edge is bringing computing closer to the user, and users are making use of it. The pressure is on keeping up with demand. At HGC, a keyway to navigate this is by creating diverse and dynamic partnerships with local partners, ISPs, MNOs at the edge of the network, wherever we are needed. That is why we launched solutions like edge PoPs, edge nodes and, most recently, our unique ultra-low latency Eyeball-as-a-Service^TM (“EaaS”) with least-hop, optimised, direct local connections. This echoes to the notion of real-time economy and our aim is to deliver a ready-to-go platform to stay ahead of those market trends. Furthermore, HGC’s expertise in managing the one-stop solution plus carefully designed EaaS and customization has allowed a customer to avoid the upsurge in operational cost and speed up time-to-market.

What new experiences has HGC enabled that were not originally in mind for Digital Gaming?

By putting our R&D into fifth gear, we are dedicated to supporting players to capture the internet economy’s US$100 billion opportunities across South East Asia. HGC started by targeting video and mobile gaming, now adding latency-sensitive cases like cloud gaming, MOBA /MMOG/MMORPG Games and eSports. We have created a robust portfolio that supports instant scaling-up with gamer-centric business models. This is the real “industrial verticalization”; the fourth industrial revolution, which is digital, is now funneling, even within verticals.

How do you describe the digital globalization age of scale and how is HGC servicing the market to enable innovation?

Businesses today need to think bigger. If you play online, then you need to plan for scaling your infrastructure – and usually faster than you think. “Glocalization” isn’t new, but the difference is that now businesses can go global in seconds. This is where HGC is being able to help clients and partners: by providing them with a one-stop-shop, easy platform to scale and penetrate new markets in record time including the reassurance that their infrastructure is safe according to regulation guidelines and business requirements.

Additionally, HGC is cultivating frameworks for IT Innovation for the emerging enterprise IoT architecture and security concerns raised from a decentralized workforce. We do this by constantly establishing public-private partnerships with government bodies – such as CyberSecurity Malaysia. Together, we bring the digital, cloud, cybersecurity and managed services through our multiple-site, data-driven and evidence-based Security Operation Center which provide comprehensive Risk and Trust-based Security Monitoring and Operation Platform for enterprises in Asia.

From 5G to fintech 2.0, and real-time big data analytic environments, we have got the home-grown expertise to customize the solutions that allow faster-to-market rollouts and meet your business goals. As we like to say: “Go ahead. We’ve got your back”.

The article is originally published on Capacity Magazine Vol 21 Issue 4.