With the region’s digital media and entertainment industry forecasted to expand rapidly, Huawei, hosted the “Digital inCloud inTouch Cooperation Forum”, which saw over thirty telecom operators from the MENA region with over 100 content and services providers from around the world came together in support of the Huawei inTouch Partnership Program, a cooperative alliance empowering local telecom operators to pioneer original content, communication & entertainment services for the public.
The first of its kind initiative brings together gaming, video, music and communication content providers from around the world to the Middle East. The program further aims to establish partnerships between content, application and handset providers, constructing a win-win value chain through end-to-end value added service.
“Within the Middle East there is great enthusiasm behind digital services, although some organizations may not be fully equipped with the in-house resources necessary to transform their ideas to reality,” notes Justin Chen, Director of Middle East Hosting Department at Huawei. “By providing support tools and facilitating new service partnerships, we can help bring to life the creativity and passion of the Middle East.”
“Welcoming content and service providers from around the world, the Digital inCloud inTouch Cooperation Forum has showcased many of the exciting innovations planned for consumers in the Middle East,” adds Mac Taylor, Chief Consultant of Digital Services Product Line, Huawei. “To power this future vision, the Middle East ICT community is now embracing a more open industry value chain; one that fosters the integration of capabilities across borders and across platforms.”
Huawei’s inTouch Partnership Program includes over 2100 partners worldwide collaborating across eight global Hosting Centers. Last year Huawei opened the company’s first Middle East Hosting Center to support the technological requirements of the inTouch Program. The center is a regional hub for all research and development efforts led through the program. These include access to open developer interfaces, app development tools, technology support staff & trainings, and testing environments to speed up the commercial progress of new services.
Huawei also launched its own dedicated entertainment portal for the region known as Wakti—meaning “My Time” in Arabic. The online portal houses the various services developed through the global inTouch Program and will ultimately help regional telecom operators to provide more content service ahead of major events like the Expo 2020 Dubai and 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar. One of the operators already using the service is Zain, which recently unveiled an alliance with Huawei in offering the Wakti app to both its prepaid and post-paid customers.
During the forum, Huawei unveiled two new platforms expanding the opportunities offered to users through the inTouch Partnership Program. MuchTV is a new on-demand video streaming service that offers TV shows and movies to viewers across the Middle East directly to mobiles, tablets, TVs, and computers. MuchTV offers unlimited viewing of a rich library of content from any internet-connected device, including Arabic, Hollywood, Bollywood and a variety of kids content.
Additionally, the ePaySystem was unveiled as a new payment system that provides smartphone users with easier purchasing tools for apps, games, videos, music, and products from e-commerce websites. The system bridges the requirements of digital content providers and e-commerce merchants through telecom operators’ own billing channels, providing more efficient and safe transactions supported by Huawei professional staff in the region.
