Huawei Unveils Advanced AI-Ready Data Infrastructure at GITEX Africa 2024

Marrakech – Last week at GITEX Africa 2024, Huawei hosted the Data Storage Summit under the theme “Data Awakening: Building Leading AI-Ready Data Infrastructure.”

The event brought together industry leaders and partners from across Africa to discuss the latest advancements and strategies in data infrastructure for the AI era.

At the summit, Chris Meng, President of Huawei Northern Africa ICT Marketing & Solution Sales Dept, highlighted the rapid growth of data and its impact on AI development.

He emphasized that the ability to manage and utilize vast amounts of data is crucial for innovation and productivity in AI.

Meng stated, “Huawei is committed to using leading ICT technologies to help our customers and partners in Northern Africa seize the strategic opportunities presented by intelligence.”

Christophe Grenier, CTO of Huawei Northern Africa Data Center, introduced several cutting-edge solutions designed to support AI-ready data infrastructure.

He unveiled Huawei’s latest 128 TB SSDs, which aim to enhance data storage capabilities and drive the digital transformation across Africa. This innovation is set to address the increasing demands for data storage and processing in AI applications.

William Zhang, President of Huawei DCS Domain, discussed the transformation of data centers towards AI-powered intelligent full-stack solutions.

These modern data centers leverage advanced AI technologies to provide enhanced efficiency, resilience, reliability, and innovation, solidifying the foundation for intelligent data centers.

Ethan Bao, Vice President of Huawei Data Protection Domain, presented the OceanProtect E8000 Appliance, a new solution for backup and archiving that boasts high density,advanced deduplication and compression algorithms.

According to Bao, this appliance aims to reduce total cost of ownership (TCO) while ensuring reliable and efficient backup of mass data, crucial for maintaining the integrity of AI training data.

During the summit, several African customers shared their positive experiences with Huawei’s data storage solutions. Alex Pierre Meye Ntyam, CTO of CNPS (Cameroon’s National Social Insurance Fund), praised Huawei’s flash-to-flash-to-anything (F2F2X) storage solution for its reliability and performance.

Retta Assefa, Head of Ethiopia’s Ministry of Revenue ICT Center, highlighted the performance boost and space efficiency achieved with Huawei’s DCS data center solution.

Amine Alahiane, IT Systems BU Director of Fintech Group in Morocco, shared insights on their five-year collaboration with Huawei, which has fostered innovation in data storage products and solutions across various domains.

Achraf Chhaimi, Senior Product Manager of Huawei Intelligent Collaboration Domain, announced the release of new products, including IdeaPresence 138 and IdeaHub ES2 Plus. These products are designed to enhance video conferencing experiences with features like 4K ultra-HD display and robust audio and video watermarking.

Houssem Aouinti, CTO of Huawei Northern Africa Data Storage, officially launched OceanClub, a data storage tech community aimed at fostering innovation and technical exchanges within the industry. According to Aouinti, OceanClub plans to host over 100 events in more than 30 countries throughout 2024, promoting collaboration and knowledge sharing among industry professionals.

At Huawei’s summit on the final day of GITEX Africa, the Chinese tech giant showcased a range of innovative products and solutions, including F2F2X all-flash storage and Multilayer Ransomware Protection (MRP) Solution, attracting significant interest and facilitating meaningful discussions on the future of data storage in Africa.