A Huawei’s Global Digitalization Index (GDI) report has shown that one-US-dollar investment in digital transformation can yield an 8.3-US-dollar return in a country’s digital economy. The findings were unveiled at GITEX Dubai 2024, jointly created with the International Data Corporation (IDC).
The GDI report measures the maturity of a country’s ICT industry by factoring in multiple indicators for digital infrastructure, including computing, storage, cloud, and green energy. The report predicts digital technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) will drive 70% of global economic growth over the next five years.
However, Huawei warns that while some countries are pouring resources into their digital future, others increasingly lag behind. “Our hope is that the GDI will give every country a clearer vision of and plan for its digital and intelligent transformation. This is not to mention more granular issues such as data siloes and complexity in integration of various processes within an industry, retraining a workforce used to heavy lifting and onerous labor, to be able to perform more agile tasks, and inevitable cybersecurity concerns related with uploading industry information to cloud-based services,” said Leo Chen, Senior Vice President, President of Enterprise Sales, Huawei.
According to the report, less than 50% of devices are currently connected and computing is unaffordable, energy intensive and in short supply. Additionally, AI penetration in industries and industry scenarios is just 12%. Furthermore, gaps in ecosystem maturity, talent readiness and policy establishment and implementation are also difficult to overcome.
Chen further noted that such complexities could be managed through multiple parties working together to develop tailored, agile and secure solutions. These would then deliver cost reduction, efficiency improvement and new business models.
Huawei is also collaborating with partners to create industry-specific solutions, including a national government cloud solution and an ICT talent cultivation program. The company hopes that the GDI will help policymakers and business leaders evaluate their digital transformation progress. This tool aligns with the company’s goal of making digital technology more accessible and practical for businesses of all sizes.