If there’s one thing that 2020 has taught us, it’s that digital transformation is no longer an option, or something nice to have.   In an ever-changing market, digital transformation is key to a business’s resilience and adaptability.  The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the power of the cloud like never before, and its ability in accelerating digital transformations among companies and entire industries.  

Amidst the challenges and impact of the pandemic, it was with excitement that we made the announcement recently the intent to build Microsoft Azure’s 66th datacenter region in Taiwan.  Standing on stage next to Taiwan government representatives, customers and partners at the press conference, I couldn’t help but think how far we’ve come after Microsoft’s 31 years of being established in Taiwan, and what an incredible time it is for Taiwan’s industries, economy, and people. 

(Source: Microsoft Taiwan)

In addition to planning the new datacenter region, Microsoft is growing its Taiwan Azure Hardware Systems and Infrastructure engineering group, which will establish Microsoft Taiwan as a hub in Asia for designing and building advanced cloud software and hardware infrastructure — spanning AI, IoT and edge solutions.  We’ve also announced an ambitious new plan to upskill talents in Taiwan. Over the next four years, our goal is to help over 200,000 Taiwanese workers acquire the digital skills that they need for the new opportunities that Microsoft will help create in Taiwan. 

I often get asked “Why Taiwan? Why did Microsoft choose Taiwan to expand its cloud region footprint and expansion of an Azure engineering team?”  

The first reason is the growing customer demand. More businesses and organizations in Taiwan have accelerated their digital transformation journey and embraced the cloud. Living in a post-pandemic world has brought new urgency for cloud migration.  Early adopters have done so, looking to streamline their operations, and now these businesses are seeing the power of digital transformation in building resilience during the pandemic.

(Source: Microsoft Taiwan's Facebook)

Second, being a global manufacturing hub for decades, Taiwan has a distinct industry advantage, making it ripe for digital transformation. Taiwan's IT sector supplies a large part of the world’s hardware, machinery, and other high-tech products.  

Taiwan produces 90 percent of the world’s motherboards and 85 percent of the world’s notebook PCs.  These technology firms are now innovating by integrating hardware with software, and cloud infrastructure supports these efforts.  

Third, Taiwan has unique potential in its industry talent. The Hsinchu Science and Industrial Park is home to over 500 technology companies and 150,000 employees alone. And thanks to public initiatives like President Tsai’s "5+2" innovative industries program, the government is aiming to boost key sectors such as biotech, sustainable energy, national defense, smart machinery, and the "Asian Silicon Valley" project. 

The physical world is going digital and cloud technology is on the rise. The cloud is playing the part of the great equalizer in allowing Taiwanese companies to expand globally like never before. It’s reinventing processes and revenue models. 

In Taiwan, industry giants are embracing the cloud to stretch the limits of what’s possible when teams work together with technology.

Trend Micro, a key player in the cybersecurity industry is leveraging the power of Microsoft Azure to develop new cloud-based cybersecurity solutions. Trend Micro will utilize the key differentiations of Azure to enhance its workflow efficiency with built-in and end-to-end security, accelerate product time to market, and partner with Microsoft to better serve its mission of making the digital world more secure.

In addition, Trend Micro is rolling out an enterprise skilling initiative for its employees and equipping them with the latest learning on cloud, AI and machine learning.  The skilling initiative looks to enable a data-driven culture within Trend Micro and leverage Azure’s platform to perform data analysis, gain insight from data and improve product performance.

(Source: Microsoft Taiwan's website)

Wiwynn Technology, a leader in cloud computing infrastructure solutions, is one of the first Taiwanese companies to adopt SAP on Azure with the goal of building resilience during these uncertain times.  Wiwynn’s ERP system has migrated from on-premise to Azure, integrating enterprise resources, removing bottlenecks in cross-departmental collaboration, and implementing smarter ways to track global supply chains.  Wiwynn now has worldwide customer reach by adopting ERP on the cloud, and will be able to predict market opportunities in a supply chain to enhance efficiency in an ever-changing industry.

Throughout history, technology has allowed us to adapt and persevere during systemic changes.  

During these uncertain pandemic times, the cloud is once again a way for industries to build resilience, stay productive, and fortify the economy.  

But digital transformations also require a leap of faith between partners and stakeholders.  It’s through this mutual trust that we can bring in a brighter future under the cloud, with Taiwan leading the way.

About the author：

Ken Sun is the General Manager of Microsoft Taiwan. He is a senior business leader in the tech industry with extensive experience in the field of cloud and AI, industrial automation, energy management, consumer electronics, and the semiconductor industry.  Prior to Microsoft, Ken served as the Country President of Taiwan for Schneider Electric.  Previously, Ken was with National Instruments for over 14 years in which 9 years he served as the General Manager of Taiwan.  Ken is a graduate of the University of Washington, with a B.S degree in Electrical Engineering.

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